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Photographic 

Sdences 
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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/iCIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historicfues 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notos/Notas  tachniquas  at  bibliographtquas 


Tha  Instituta  has  attamptad  to  obtain  the  bast 
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reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
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D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I     I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 


□    Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^  et/ou  pelliculAe 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


La  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartas  giographiquas  en  couleur 

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Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illuatrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  an  couleur 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
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La  re  liure  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
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modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  fllmage 
sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 


□ 

D 
D 


D 
D 
D 

n 


Coloured  pages/ 
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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film^  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


y 


26X 


30X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

University  of  Windsor 


L'exemplairs  film6  fut  reproduit  grflce  d  la 
g6n4rositA  de: 

University  of  Windsor 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  iceeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  it6  leprodultes  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  I'exemplaire  filmi,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimte  sont  filmte  en  commen9ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  an  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  fllmte  en  commen9ant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dee  symboles  suivants  apparaftra  sur  la 
derni^re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmfo  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichi,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup^rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

PBHWB 


!HH 


BY   THE    SAME   AUTHOR. 


THE  MYTHS  OF  THE  NEW 
WORLD:  A  Treatise  on  the  Symbolism 
and  Mythology  of  the  Red  Race  of  America. 
Second  edition,  revised.     Large  i2mo,  $2.50. 


THE     RELIGIOUS     SENTIMENT: 

Its  Source  and  Aim.  A  Contribution  to  the 
Science  and  Philosophy  of  Religion.  Large 
l2mo,  $2.50. 


THE 


MYTHS  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD 


A    TREATISE 


ON    THE 


SYMBOLISM  AND   MYTHOLOGY 


OF    THE 


EED  RACE  OF  AMERICA 


BY 

DANIEL    G.    BRINTON,    A.M.,    M.D. 

Afemher  of  the  American  Pliilowpiucal  Sociaty.  the  American 
J'hilologicfil  Society,  the  flistoricul  Societies  of  Pa.  Wi8 
Ji.f..  etc.    Author  of  "  The  lieUgious  Sentiment :  its  '' 
Sourct  anil  Aim,"  "  The  Arawnvk  fMnguage  of 
Guiana,"  Editor  of  Dying  ton's  ''■Grammar 
of  the  Choctaw  Language,"  etc.,  etc. 


SECOND    EDITION,    REVISED. 


NEW    YORK 
HENRY    HOLT    AND    COMPANY 

1876. 


mmmmi 


w. 


E 

32lf 
127  (, 


Copyright 
BY    HENIIY    HOLT.      '' 

1876. 


John  F.  Trow  &  Son,  Printers, 
305-213  East  i2th  St.,  New  Vokk. 


I  i 


PEEFAGE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION. 


I  HAVE  written  this  work  more  for  the  thoughtful 
general  reader  than  the  antiquary.  It  is  a  study  of  an 
obscure  portion  of  the  intellectual  history  of  our  species 
as   exemplified   in   one   of   its   varieties. 

What  are  man's  earliest  ideas  of  a  soul  and  a  God, 
and  of  his  own  origin  and  destiny?  Why  do  we  find 
certain  myths,  such  as  of  a  creation,  a  flood,  an  after- 
world ;  certain  symbols,  as  the  bird,  the  serpent,  the 
cross ;  certain  numbers,  as  the  three,  the  four,  the  seven— 
intimately  associated  with  these  ideas  by  every  race? 
What  are  the  laws  of  growth  of  natural  religions  ?  How 
do  they  acquire  such  an  influence,  and  is  this  influence 
for  good  or  evil?  Such  are  some  of  the  universally 
interesting  questions  which  I  attempt  to  solve  by  an 
analysis  of  the  simple  faiths  of  a  savage  race.       *    * 

Philadelphia, 
April,  1868, 


■Jhtt(}'- 


soeoc9 


mmm 


M 


PKEFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


Since  the  first  edition  of  this  work  appeared,  the 
study  of  primitive  man  has  been  taken  up  by  several 
eminent  writers.  So  far  as  their  labors  have  borne  upon 
the  red  race  I  have  endeavored  to  profit  by  them,  and 
also  by  the  additional  linguistic  material  which  has  been 
published   during    the    same  period. 

While  I  owe  various  corrections  to  the  criticisms, 
generally  kindly,  which  the  work  has  called  forth,  I 
have  not  found  reason  to  altey  the  leading  views  pre- 
viously maintained.  Where  apparently  weak  points  in 
the  argument  have  been  indicated,  I  have  given  more 
in  detail  the  evidence  on  which  they  rest.  The  only 
important  modification  is  in  Chapter  V.,  where  the 
"  Religion  of  Sex "  is  developed  at  greater  length  than 
in  the  former  edition,  and  a  wider  meaning  attributed 
to  it. 

PniLADKLPHIA, 

January,  1876. 


f» 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


OENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  HACE. 


Natural  religions  the  unaided  attempts  of  man  to  find  out  God, 
modified  by  peculiarities  of  race  and  nation. — The  peculiarities  of 
the  red  race  :  1 .  Its  languages  unfriendly  to  abstract  ideas.  Na- 
tive modes  of  writing  by  means  of  pictures,  symbols,  objects,  and 
phonetic  bigns.  These  various  methods  compared  in  their  influ- 
ence on  the  intellectual  faculties.  3.  Its  isolation,  unique  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  3.  Beyond  all  others,  a  hunting  race. — 
Principal  linguistic  subdivisions :  1.  The  Eskimos.  2.  The  Atha- 
pasoiVB.  3.  The  Algonkins  and  Iroquois.  4.  The  Chahta-Mus- 
kokee  tribes.  5.  The  Dakotas.  G.  The  Aztecs.  7.  The  Mayas. 
8.  The  Muyscas.  9.  The  Quichuas.  10.  The  Caribs  and  Tupis. 
11.  The  Araucanians. — General  course  of  migrations, — Ago  of  man 
in  America. — Unity  of  type  in  the  red  race 


FAOB 


CHAPTER    II. 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


An  intuition  common  to  tho  species. — Words  expressing  it  in  Ameri- 
can languages  derived  either  from  ideas  of  above  in  space,  or  of 
life  manifested  by  breath. — Examples. — No  conscious  monotheism, 
and  but  little  idea  of  immateriality  discoverable. — Stiil  less  any 
moral  dualism  of  deities,  the  Great  Good  Spirit  and  the  Great  Bad 
Spirit  being  alike  terms  and  notions  of  foreign  importation   . . 


45 


CONTENTS. 


CIIAPTKll    III. 


THE  SACRED  NUAfBEIt,  ITS  OUIGIN  AXD  ArPLICATIONS. 


FAoa 


The  number  Forn  Bncrcd  in  nil  Amorican  rcliKiomi,  and  tho  key  to 
their  HyniboliHm.— Derived  from  tlio  Cahdinai-  1'ointh.— Appears 
constantly  in  government,  arts,  rites,  and  myths-^Tlie  Cardinal 
TointH  identified  with  the  Four  Winds,  wlui  in  myths  are  the  four 
ancestors  of  tl>o  human  race,  and  the  four  celestial  rivers  watering 
the  terrestrial  Paradise. — Associations  groniied  nround  eacli  Car- 
dinal Point.— From  the  number  four  was  derived  tho  Bymbolic 
value  of  the  number  Forty  and  tlio  SUjn  of  tho  Cross    .       .       .08 


CIIAPTKll    IV. 

THE  SYIVIBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SEUPENT. 


Relations  of  man  to  Lhe  lower  animals.— Two  of  these,  the  Bmn  and 
tlie  Skui'Knt,  clioscn  as  symljols  beyond  all  others.— The  Bird 
throuyliout  America  tlio  symbol  of  tlio  Clouds  and  Winds. — Mean- 
ing of  cei-tain  species. — The  symbolic  meaning  of  tlio  Seqjent  de- 
rived from  its  mode  of  lf)comotion.  its  poisonous  bite,  and  its 
power  of  charming. — Usually  the  symbol  of  the  lightning  and  tlio 
Waters. — Tlio  lliittle-snake  tho  symbolic  species  in  America. — Tho 
war  charm.— The  Cross  of  Palcnque.— Tho  god  of  riches. — Both 
symbols  devoid  of  moral  significance 


103 


CIIAPTEK    V. 


THE  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIlll':,  AND  THE  THUNDERSTORM,  AND 
THE  RELIGION  OF  SEX. 


Water  tho  oldest  clement. — Its  use  in  purification. —Holy  Avator. — Tho 
Kite  of  Baptism. — The  water  <jf  life. — Its  symbols. — Tho  Vase. — 
Tho  moon. — Tho  latter  the  goddess  of  love  and  agriculture,  l)ut 
also  of  sickness,  night,  and  pain. — Often  represented  by  a  dog. — 
Fire  worship  under  the  form  of  Sun  worship. — Tho  perpetual  fire. — 
Tho  new  fire. — Burning  the  dead. — The  worship  of  the  passions. 
— The  religion  of  sex  in  America.— Synthesis  of  tho  worship  of 
Fire,  Water,  and  the  Winds  in  the  TfifxpEU-sTomi,  personified  as 
Haokah,  Tupa,  Catequil,  Contici,  Ileno,  Tlaloc,  Mixcoatl,  and  other 
deities,  many  of  them  triune 128 


CONTENTS. 


vii 


C  II  APT  Ell    VI. 


THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 


fkau 


Aiuilj-slfl  of  American  cultAiro  myths.— The  Mnnibozho  or  Miclmbo 
()( tho  AlgoiikiiiH  hIkiwii  to  bo  tin  inipcrHonation  of  LiaiiT,  n  licro 
of  tlio  D.'iwn,  ami  thoir  highest  deity.— Tho  niythn  of  lonlielin  of 
tlio  Iroquoiw,  Vlrucoclwi  of  tlio  Peruvians,  ami  Qiietzalcoatl  t)f  tho 
Toltecs,  csrtcntiaily  tlio  Hanio  as  tiiat  of  Mieliabo. — Other  exam- 
ples.—Ante-Coluuibian  iJiopliccies  of  tho  advent  of  a  white  raco 
from  tlie  east  as  conquerors.— Uiso  of  later  culture  myths  under 
eimilur  forms 


17? 


CHAPTER   VII. 


THE  MYTHS  OF  THE  CREATION,  THE  DELUGE,  THE  EPOCHS  OP 
NATURE,  AND  THE  LAST  DAY. 

Cosmogonies  usually  portray  tho  action  of  the  Spikit  on  the 
Waters. — Those  of  tho  Muscogees,  Athajjascas,  Quiche's,  Alixtecs, 
Iroquois,  Algonldus,  and  others. — Tho  Flood-Myth  an  uncon- 
scious attempt  to  reconcile  a  creation  in  time  with  the  eternity  of 
matter.— Proof  of  this  from  American  mytliology. — Charactcrititics 
of  American  Flood-Myths.— Tlio  person  saved  usually  tho  first 
man. — Tlie  number  seven. — Their  Ararats. — Tlie  role  of  birds. — 
The  confusion  of  tongues.— Tho  Aztec,  Quiche,  Algonkin,  Tupi, 
and  c.'irlicst  Sanscrit  flood-myths. — Tlio  belief  iu  Epochs  of  Nature 
a  further  result  of  this  attempt  at  reconciliation. — Its  forms  among 
Peruvians,  Mayas,  and  Aztecs. — Tho  expectation  of  the  End  of  the 
World  a  corollary  of  this  belief.— Views  of  various  nations    .       .  208 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE  ORIGIN.  OP  MAN. 


Usually  man  is  tho  Earth-born,  both  in  language  and  myths.— II- 
lu.strations  from  tho  legends  of  the  Caribs,  Apalachians,  Iroquois, 
Qaichuas,  Aztecs,  and  others.— The  under-world. —  Man  tho  pro- 
duct of  one  of  the  primal  creative  powers,  tho  Spirit,  or  tho  Water, 
in  tho  myths  of  tho  Athap-iscas,  Eskimos,  Moxos,  and  others. — 
Never  literally  derived  from  an  inferior  species       .... 


238 


vili 


CONTENTS. 


C  11  A  r  T  E  11    IX. 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


•  rAOE. 
Universality  of  tlio  belief  in  Ji  soul  and  a  future  stite  shown  by  the 
aboriginal  tongues,  by  cxprcsised  opinions,  and  by  sepulchral  rites. 
—The  future  world  never  a  place  of  rewards  and  punishments.— 
The  house  of  the  Sun  the  heaven  of  the  red  man. -The  terrestrial  ^ 
paradise  and  the  under-world.— Cupay.—Xibalba.— Mictlan.— ile- 
tempsychosis? — Belief  in  a  resurrection  of  the  dead  almost  uni- 
versal   249 

C  H  A  P  T  E  R    X  . 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD. 

Their  t'cles. — Practitioners  of  tlie  healing  .-irt  by  supernatural  means. 
— ^Their  power  derived  from  natural  magic  and  the  exorcise  of  tho 
clairvoyant  and  mesmeric  faculties.  — Exanii)les.  — Epidemic  hys- 
teria.— The  social  position. — Their  duties  as  rcligi(Mis  functiona- 
ries.— Terms  of  admission  to  tho  Priesthood. — Tnnor  organization 
in  various  nations. — Their  esoteric  language  and  secret  societies    . 


282 


CHAPTER    XI. 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE   NATIVE  EEIJGIONS  ON  THE  MORAL 
AND  SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  THE  RACE. 

Natural  religions  hitherto  considered  of  Evil  rather  than  of  Good. — 
Distinctions  to  be  dra-^vn. — Morality  not  derived  from  religion. — 
Tho  positive  side  of  natural  religions  in  incarnations  oi  uivhiity. — 
E.xamples. — Prayers  as  indices  of  ^.'eligious  progress. — Religion  and 
social  advancement. —Couclusiou .^00 


I  • 


PAOE. 

ly  the 
rites, 
iits.  — 
'strial 
-ilo- 
t  uiii- 
.        .  249 


THE  MYTHS  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD. 


CHAPTER  I. 


GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 


iiemi8. 
of  tho 
c  liys- 
?ti()na- 
ization 
ties    .  282 


E  I.IOEAL 

nod. — 

ion. — 
[lity.— 

u  and 


Natural  religious  tlie  uiiaided  attempts  of  man  to  find  out  God,  modified 
by  peculiarities  of  race  and  nation. — The  peculiarities  of  the  red  race  : 
1.  Its  kiuguajjea  unfriendly  to  abstrasit  ideas.  Native  modes  of  writing 
by  means  of  pictures,  symbols,  objects,  aitd  phonetic  signs. '  These 
various  methods  com])ared  in  their  influence  on  the  iutellectaal  facul- 
ties. 2.  Its  isolation,  unique  in  tlie  history  of  the  world.  S.  Beyond 
all  othera,  a  hunting  race.— Principal  linguistic  subdivisions  :  1.  The 
Eskimos.  2.  The  A  thapiiscas.  3.  The  Algonkins  and  Iroquois.  4. 
The  Chahta-Muskokces.  5.  Tlie  D!\kotas.  6.  The  Aztecs.  7.  The 
Mayas,  8.  The  Muyscas.  9.  The  Quichuas.  10.  The  Caribs  and 
Tupis.  11.  The  Araucanians.— General  course  of  migrations. — Age  o£ 
man  in  America. — Unity  of  Type  iu  tbe  red  race. 

WHEN  Paul,  at  the  request  of  the  populace  of 
Athens,  explained  to  them  his  views  on  divine 
tilings,  he  asserted,  among  other  startling  novelties, 
that  "  God  has  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  the 
earth,  that  they  should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they 
might  feel  after  him  and  find  him,  though  he  is  not 
far  from  every  one  of  us.' 

Here  was  an  orator  advocating  the  unity  of  the 
human  species,  affirming  that  the  chief  end  of  mt.n  is 
to  develop  an  innate  idea  of  God,  and  that  all  relig- 
ions except  the  one  he  preached,  were  examples  of 
1 


i 


2  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE, 


more  or  less  unsuccessful  attempts  to  do  so.  No 
wonder  the  Athenians,  who  acknowledged  no  kin- 
ship to  barbarians,  who  looked  dubiously  at  the  doc- 
trine of  innate  ideas,  and  were  divided  in  opinion  as 
to  whether  their  mythology  was  a  shrewd  device  of 
legislators  to  keep  the  populace  in  subjection,  a  veil- 
ed natural  philosophy,  or  the  celestial  reflex  of  their 
own  history,  mocked  at  such  a  babbler  and  went 
their  ways.  The  generations  of  philosophers  that 
followed  them  partook  of  their  doubts  and  approved 
their  opinions,  quite  down  to  our  own  times.  But 
now,  after  weighing  the  question  maturely,  v/e  are 
compelled  to  admit  that  the  Apostle  was  not  so  wide 
of  the  mark  after  all — that,  in  fact,  the  latest  and 
best  authorities,  with  no  bias  in  his  favor,  support 
his  position  and  may  almost  be  said  to  paraphrase  his 
words.  For  according  to  a  writer  who  ranks  second 
to  none  in  the  science  of  ethnology,  the  severest  and 
most  recent  investigations  show  that  in  all  that  we 
can  suppose  to  constitute  specific  unity,  the  human 
race  is  one,  and  that  "  this  opinion  is  attended  with 
fewer  discrepancies,  and  has  greater  inner  consis- 
tency than  the  opposite  one  of  specific  diversity."  ^ 
While  as  to  the  religions  of  heathendom,  the  view 
of  Saint  Paul  is  but  expressed  with  a  more  poetic 
turn  by  a  distinguished  living  author  when  he  calls 
them  "  not  fables,  but  truths,  though  clothed  in  a 
garb  woven  by  fancy,  wherein  the  web  is  the  notion 
of  God,  the  ideal  of  reason  in  the  soul  of  man,  the 
thought  of  the  Infinite."  ^ 

1  Waitz,  Anfltropologle  der  Naturroelker,  i.  p.  256. 

2  Carriere.  lie  Kunst  im  Z  usammenhang  der  Culturentwkke- 
lung,  i.  p.  66.  . 


tlturentwicke- 


ADOniGINAL  RELIGIONS  OF  AMERICA.  3 

Inspiration  and  science  unite  therefore  to  bid  us 
iismiss,  as  effete,  the  prejudice  that  natural  religions 
either  arise  as  the  ancient  philosophies  taught,  or  that 
they  are,  asthe  Dark  Ages  imagined,  subtle  nets  of 
the  devil  spread  to  catch  human  souls.  They  are  rather 
the  unaided  attempts  of  man  to  find  out  God ;  they 
are  the  efforts  of  the  reason  struggling  to  define  the 
unknown,  they  are  the  expressions  of  that  "yearn- 
ing after  the  gods  "  which  the  earliest  of  poets  dis- 
cerned in  the  hearts  of  all  men.  Studied  in  this 
sense  they  are  rich  in  teachings.  Would  we  estimate 
the  intellectual  and  aesthetic  culture  of  a  people, 
would  we  generalize  the  laws  of  progress,  would  we 
^.ppreciate  the  sublimity  of  Christianity,  and  read  the 
seals  of  its  authenticity:  the  natural  conceptions  of 
divinity  reveal  them.  No  mythologies  are  so  crude, 
therefore,  none  so  barbarous,  but  deserve  the  attention 
of  the  philosophic  mind,  for  they  are  never  the  empty 
fictions  of  an  idle  fancy,  but  rather  the  utterances, 
'"owever  inarticulate,  of  an  intuition  of  reason. 

These  considerations  embolden  me  to  approach 
with  some  confidence  even  the  aboriginal  religions 
of  America,  so  often  stigmatized  as  incoherent  feti- 
chisms,  so  barren,  it  has  been  said,  in  grand  or  beau- 
tiful creations.  The  task  bristles  with  difficulties. 
Carelessness,  prepossessions,  and  ignorance  have  dis- 
figured them  with  false  colors  and  foreign  additions 
without  number.  The  first  maxim,  therefore,  must 
be  to  sift  and  scrutinize  authorities,  and  to  reject 
whatever  betrays  the  plastic  hand  of  the  European. 
For  'the  religions  developed  by  the  red  race,  not  those 
mixed  creeds  learned  from  foreign  invaders,  are  to  be 
the  subjects  of  our  study.     Then  will  remain  the  for- 


••) 


4    GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

midable  undertaking  of  reducing  the  authentic  mate- 
rials thus  obtained  to  system  and  order,  and  this  not 
by  any  preconceived  theory  of  what  they  ought  to 
conform  to,  but  learning  from  them  the  very  laws  of 
religious  growth  they  illustrate.  The  historian  traces 
the  birth  of  arts,  science,  and  government  to  man's 
dependence  on  nature  and  his  fellows  for  the  means 
of  self-preservation.  Not  that  man  receives  these  en- 
dowments from  without,  but  that  the  stern  step- 
mother. Nature,  forces  him  by  threats  and  stripes  to 
develop  his  own  inherent  faculties.  So  with  religion. 
The  idea  of  God  does  not,  and  cannot  proceed  from 
the  external  world,  but,  neverthelesss,  it  finds  its  his- 
torical origin  also  in  the  desperate  struggle  for  life,  in 
the  satisfaction  of  the  animal  wants  and  passions,  in 
those  vulgar  aims  and  motives  which  possessed  the 
mind  of  the  primitive  man  to  the  exclusion  of  every- 
thing else. 

There  is  an  ever  present  embarrassment  in  such  in- 
quiries. In  dealing  with  these  matters  beyond  the 
cognizance  of  the  senses,  the  mind  is  forced  to  express 
its  meaning  in  terms  transferred  from  srensuous  per- 
ceptions, or  under  symbols  borrowed  from  the  ma- 
terial world.  These  transfers  must  be  understood, 
these  symbols  explained,  before  the  real  meaning  of 
a  myth  can  be  reached.  He  who  fails  to  guess  the 
riddle  of  the  sphynx,  need  not  hope  to  gain  admit- 
tance to  the  shrine.  With  delicate  ear  the  faint 
whispers  of  tliought  must  be  apprehended  which 
prompt  the  intellect  when  it  names  the  immaterial 
from  the  material ;  when  it  chooses  from  the  infinity 
of  visible  forms  those  meet  to  shadow  forth  Divinity. 

Two  lights  will  guide  us  on  this  venturesome  path. 


THE  MEANING  OF  MYTHS. 


Mindful  of  the  watchword  of  inductive  science,  to 
proceed  from  the  known  to  the  unknown,  the  inquiry 
will  be  put    whether  .the    aboriginal  languages   of 
America  employ  the  same  tropes  to  express  such  ideas 
as  deity,  spirit,' and  soul,  as  our  own  and  kindred 
tongues.    If  the  answer  prove  affirmative,  then  not 
only  have  we  gained  a  firm  foothold  whence  to  sur- 
vey the  whole  edifice  of  their  mythology ;  but  from 
it  we  may  draw  evidence  of  the  unity  of  our  species 
far  weightier  than  any  unity  of  anatomy,  evidence 
of  the  oneness  of  emotion  and  thought.     True,  the 
science  of  American  linguistics  is  still  in  its  infancy, 
and  a  proper  handling  of  the  materials  it  even  now 
offers  involves  a  more  critical  acquaintance  with  its 
innumerable  dialects  than  I  possess ;  but  though  the 
gleaning  be  sparse,  it  is   enough  that  I  break  the 
ground.     Secondly,  religious  rites   are  unconscious 
commentaries  on  religious  beliefs.     Some  are  devices 
to  cajole  the  gods,  while   others  represent  their  sup- 
posed actions.     The  Indian  rain-maker  mounts  to  the 
roof  of  his  hut,  and  rattling  vigorously  a  dry  gourd 
containing  pebbles,  to  represent  the  thunder,  scatters 
water  th'^ough  a  reed  on  the  ground  beneath,  as  he 
imagines  up  above  in  the  clouds  do  the  spirits  of  the 
storm.     Every  spring  in  ancient  Delphi  was- repeated 
in  scenic  ceremony  the  combat  of  Apollo  and  the 
Dragon,   the  victory  of  the  lord  of  bright  summer 
over  the  demon  of  chilling  winter.     Thus  do  forms 
and  ceremonies  reveal  the  meaning  of  mythology,  and 
the  origin  of  its  fables. 

Let  it  not  be  objected  that  this  proposed  method  of 
analysis  assuFies  that  religions  begin  and  develop 
under  the  operation  of  inflexible  laws.    The  soul  is 


6    GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

shackled  by  no  such  fatalism.    Formative  influences 

there  are,  deep  seated,  far  reaching,  escaped  by  few, 

'but  like  those  which  of  yore,  astrologers  imputed  to  the 

stars,  they  do  but  potently  incline,  they  do  n(3t  coerce. 

Language,  pursuits,  habits,  geographical  position, 
and  those  subtle  mental  traits  which  make  up  the 
characters  of  races  and  nations,  all  tend  to  deflect 
from  a  given  standard  the  religious  life  of  the  indi 
vidual  and  the  mass.  It  is  essential  to  give  these  due 
weight,  and  a  necessary  preface,  therefore,  to  an  analy- 
sis of  the  myths  of  the  red  race  is  an  enumeration  of 
its  peculiarities,  and  of  its  chief  families  as  they  were 
located  when  first  known  to  the  historian. 

Of  all  such  modifying  circumstances  none  has 
greater  importance  than  the  means  of  expressing  and 
transmitting  intellectual  action.  The  spoken  and  the 
written  language  of  a  nation  reveal  to  us  its  prevail- 
ing, and  to  a  certain  degree  its  unavoidable  mode  of 
thouglit.  Here  the  red  race  offers  a  striking  phe- 
nomenon. There  is  no  other  trait  that  binds  together 
its  scattered  clans,  and  brands  them  as  members  of 
one  family,  so  unmistakably  as  this  of  language. 
From  the  Frozen  Ocean  lo  the  Land  of  Fire,  without 
a  single  exception,  the  native  dialects,  though  vary- 
ing infinitely  in  word«,  are  marked  by  a  peculi- 
arity in  construction  which  is  found  nowhere  else 
on  theglolje,  ^  and  which  is  so  foreign  to  the  genius  of 
our  tongue  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  explain  it.  It 
is  called  by  philologists  the  polysynthetic  construction. 


1  It  is  said  indeed  that  tlie  Yebus,  a  people  on  the  west  coast 
of  Africa,  speak  a  polysyi  tlietic  hanguage,  and  per  contra,  that 
the  Ocomis  of  Mexico  liav.  a  monosyUabic  one  like  the  Chinese. 


THE  NA  TI VE  LANG  UA  GES.  7 

What  it  is  will  best  appear  by  comparison.  Every 
grammatical  sentence  conveys  one  leading  idea  with 
its  modifications  and  relations.  Now  a  Chinese 
would  express  these  latter  by  unconnected  syllables, 
the  precise  bearing  of  which  could  only  be  guessed  by 
their  position  ;  a  Greek  or  a  German  would  use  inde- 
pendent words,  indicating  their  relations  by  termina- 
tions meaningless  in  themselves;  an  Englishman 
gains  the  same  end  chiefly  by  the  use  of  particles 
and  by  position.  Very  different  from  all  these  is  the 
spirit  of  a  polysynthetic  language.  It  seeks  to  unite 
in  the  most  intimate  manner  all  relations  and  modifica- 
tions with  the  leading  idea,  to  merge  one  in  the  other 
by  altering  the  forms  of  the  words  themselves  and 
welding  them  together,  to  express  the  whole  in  one 
word,  and  to  banish  any  conception  except  as  it  arises 
in  relation  to  others.  Thus  in  ranny  American  tongues 
there  is,  in  fact,  no  word  for  father,  mother,  brother, 
but  only  for  my,  your,  his  father,  etc.  This  has  ad- 
vantages and  defects.  It  offers  marvellous  facilities 
for  defining  the  perceptions  of  the  senses  with  accu- 


Max  Mueller  goes  further,  and  asserts  that  what  is  called  the  pro- 
cess of  agglutination  in  the  Turanian  languages  is  the  same  as 
■what  has  been  named  polysynthosis  in  America.  This  is  not  to 
be  conceded.  In  the  former  the  root  is  unchangeable,  the  forma- 
tive elements  follow  it,  and  prefixes  are  not  used  ;  in  the  latter 
prefixes  are  common,  and  the  formative  elements  are  blended 
with  the  root,  both  undergoing  changes  of  structure.  Very  im- 
portant differences.  Mr.  J.  H.  Trumbull,  in  saying  that  the  rad- 
icals of  American  languages  *'  enter  into  composition  without 
undergoing  change  of  form  "  (Trnns.  Am.  Philol.  Soc,  18G9-70, 
p.  66),  certainly  goes  too  far  ;  when  the  root  contains  more  than 
one  phonetic  element  it  changes  par  noie  d^hifrn-sitscepfinn 
(See  Jugement  erronJ  nur  les  Langiies  Sauvages,  2d  Ed.,  p.  31). 


i 


8  GENERAL  CJ}NSI DERATIONS  ON- THE  RED  RACE. 

racy ;  but  regarding  everything  in  the  concrete,  it  is 
unfriendly  to  the  nobler  labors  of  the  mind,  to  abstrac- 
tion and  generalization.  In  the  numberless  changes 
of  these  languages,  their  bewildering  flexibility,  their 
variable  forms,  and  their  rapid  deterioration,  they 
seem  to  betray  a  lack  of  individuality,  and  to  resemble 
the  vague  and  tumultuous  history  of  the  tribes  who 
employ  them.  They  exhibit  an  almost  incredible 
laxity.  It  is  nothing  uncommon  for  the  two  sexes 
to  uf!,e  different  names  for  the  same  object,  and  for 
nobles  and  vulgar,  priests  and  people,  the  old  and 
the  young,  nay,  even  the  married  and  single,  to 
observe  what  seem  to  the  European  ear  quite  different 
modes  of  expression.  Families  and  whole  villages 
suddenly  drop  words  and  manufacture  others  in  their 
places  out  of  mere  caprice  or  superstition,  and  a  few 
years'  separation  suffices  to  produce  a  marked  dialectic 
difference.  ^  In  their  copious  forms  and  facility  of 
reproduction  they  remind  one  of  those  anomalous 
animals,  in  whom,  when  a  limb  is  lopped,  it  rapidly 
grows  again,  or  even  if  cut  in  pieces  each  part  will 
enter  on  a  separate  life  quite  unconcerned  about  his 
fellows.  But  as  the  naturalist  is  far  from  regarding 
this  superabundant  vitality  as  a  characteristic  of  a 
high  type,  so  the  philologist  justly  assigns  these 
tongues  a  low  position  in  the  linguistic  scale.  Fidelity 
to  form,  here  as  everywhere,  is  the  test  of  superiority. 
At  the  outset,  we  divine  there  can  be  nothing  very 

1  In  a  review  of  the  first  edition  of  this  work  Professor  Stain- 
thai,  of  Berlin,  questions  this  statement.  Mr.  J.  H.  Trumbull 
expi-esses  a  modified  belief  in  it  {Trans.  Am.  Philol.  Soc,  1869- 
70,  p.  61).  After  careful  consideration  1  leave  it  unaltered,  as 
I  am  still  persuaded  the  picture  is  not  overdrawn. 


'f& 


PICTURE  WRITING. 


0 


subtle  in  the  mythologies  of  nations  with  such 
languages.  Much  there  must  be  that  will  be  obscure, 
much  that  is  vague,  an  exhausting  variety  in  repeti- 
tion, and  a  strong  tendency  to  lose  the  idea  in  the 
symbol. 

What  definiteness  of  outline  might  be  preserved 
must  depend  on  the  care  with  which  the  old  stories 
of  the  gods  were  passed  from  one  person  and  c:ie 
generation  to  another.  The  fundamental  myths  of 
a  race  have  a  surprising  tenacity  of  life.  How  many 
centuries  had  elapsed  between  the  period  the  Ger- 
manic hordes  left  their  ancient  homes  in  Central 
Asia,  and  when  Tacitus  listened  to  their  wild  songs 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine?  Yet  we  know  that 
through  those  unnumbered  ages  of  barbarism  and  aim- 
less roving,  these  songs,  "  their  only  sort  of  history 
or  annals,"  says  the  historian,  had  preserved  intact 
the  story  of  Mannus,  the  Sanscrit  Manu,  and  his  three 
sons,  and  of  the  great  god  Tuisco,  the  Indian  Dyu.  * 
So  much  the  more  do  all  means  invented  bv  the  red 
race  to  record  and  transmit  thought,  merit  our  care- 
ful attention.  Few  and  feeble  they  seem  to  us, 
mainly  shifts  to  aid  the  memory.  Of  some  such,  per- 
haps, not  a  single  tribe  was  destitute.  The  tattoo 
marks  on  the  warrior's  breast,  his  string  of  grisly 
scalps,  the  bear's  claws  around  his  reck,  were  not 
only  trophies  of  his  prowess,  but  records  of  his  ex- 
ploits, and  to  the  contemplative  mind  contain  the  ru- 
diments of  the  beneficent  art  of  letters.  Did  he 
draw  in  rude  outline  on  his  skin  tent  figures  of  men 
transfixed  with  arrows  as  many  as  he  had  slain  en- 

^  Grimm,  Geschichte  der  Deutschen  Sprache,  p.  571. 


10  GENERAL  CONSlDEliATlOSS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 


emies,  his  education  was  rapidly  advancing.  He  had 
mastered  the  elements  of  picture  writing^  beyond 
which  hardly  the  wisest  of  his  race  progressed.  Fig- 
ures of  the  natural  objects  connected  by  symbols 
having  fixed  meanings  make  up  the  whole  of  this  art. 
The  relative  frequency  of  the  latter  marks  its  advance- 
ment from  a  merely  figurative  to  an  ideographic  no- 
tation. On  what  principle  of  mental  association  a 
given  sign  was  adopted  to  express  a  certain  idea,  why, 
for  instance,  on  the  Chipeway  scrolls  a  circle  means 
spirits,  and  a  horned  snake  life,  it  is  often  hard  to 
f>;uess.  The  difficulty  grows  when  we  find  that  to  the 
initiated  the  same  sign  calls  up  quite  different  ideas, 
as  the  subject  of  the  writer  varies  from  war  to  love, 
or  from  the  chase  to  religion.  The  connection  is  gen- 
erally beyond  the  power  of  divination,  and  the  key  to 
ideographic  writing  once  lost  can  never  be  recovered. 

The  number  of  such  arbitrary  characters  in  the 
Chipeway  notation  is  said  to  be  over  two  hundred, 
but  if  the  distinction  between  a  figure  and  a  symbol 
were  rigidly  applied,  it  would  be  much  reduced. 
This  kind  of  writing,  if  it  deserves  the  name,  was 
common  throughout  the  continent,  and  many  spec- 
imens of  it,  scratched  on  the  plane  surfaces  of  stones, 
have  been  preserved  to  the  present  day.  Such  is  the 
once  celebrated  inscription  on  Dighton  Rock,  Massa- 
chusetts, long  supposed  to  be  a  record  of  the  North- 
men of  Vineland ;  such  those  that  mark  the  faces  of 
the  cliffs  which  overhansr  the  waters  of  the  Orinoco, 
and  those  which  in  Oregon,  Peru,  and  La  Plata  have 
been  the  subject  of  much  curious  speculation.  They 
are  the  mute  epitaphs  of  vanished  generations. 

I  would  it  could  be  said  that  in  favorable  contrast 


PHONETIC  CUARACTEltS, 


11 


to  our  ignorance  of  those  inscriptions  is  our  compro- 
hcnsion  of  the  liighly  wrouj^lit  pictograpliy  of  tho 
Aztecs.  No  nation  ever  reduced  it  more  to  a  system. 
It  was  inconstant  use  in  the  daily  transactions  of  life. 
They  manufactured  for  writing  purposes  a  thick, 
coarse  paper  from  the  leaves  of  the  a^ave  plant,  b}'  a 
process  of  maceration  and  pressure.  An  Aztec  hook 
closely  resembles  one  of  our  quarto  volumes.  It  is 
made  of  a  single  sheet,  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  wide, 
and  often  sixty  or  seventy  feet  long,  and  is  not  rolled, 
but  folded  either  in  squares  or  zigzags  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  on  opening  it  there  are  two  pages  exposed  to 
view.  Thin  wooden  boards  are  fastened  to  each  of 
the  outer  leaves,  so  that  the  whole  presents  as  neat  an 
appearance,  remarks  Peter  Martyr,  as  if  it  had  come 
from  the  shop  of  a  skijful  bookbinder.  They  also 
covered  buildings,  tapestries,  and  scrolls  of  parchment 
with  these  djvices,  and  for  trifling  transactions  were 
familiar  withthb  use  oi  slates  of  soft  stone,  from  which 
the  figures  could  readily  be  erased  with  water.  * 
What  is  still  more  astonishing,  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve, in  some  instances,  their  figures  were  not  painted, 
but  actually  jonw^ec?  with  movable  blocks  of  wood,  on 
which  the  symbols  were  carved  in  relief,  though  this 
was  probably  confined  to  those  intended  for  ornament 
only.  ,  ^ 

In  these  records  we  discern  somethino;  hioher  than 
a  mere  symbolic  notation.  They  contain  the  germ  of 
a  phonetic  alphabet,  and  represent  sounds  of  spoken 
language.  The  symbol  is  often  not  connected  with 
the  idea  but  with  the  word.     The  mode  in  which  this 


^  Peter  Martyr,  De  Insults  nuperReperlis,  p.  354  ;  Colon.  1574. 


12  GENERAL  CONSIbEliATlONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

is  done  coiTOvsponds  precisely  to  that  of  the  rebus.  It 
is  a  simple  method,  readily  suggesting  itstlf.  In  the 
middle  ages  it  was  nuujli  in  vogue  in  Europe  for  the 
same  purpose  for  which  it  was  chiefly  employed  in 
Mexico  at  the  same  time — the  writing  of  proper  names. 
For  example,  the  English  family  Bolton  was  known 
in  heraldry  by  a  tun  transfixed  by  a  holt.  Precisely 
so  the  Mexican  emperor  Ixcoatl  is  mentioned  in  the 
Aztec  manuscripts  under  the  figure  of  a  serpent  coatl^ 
pierced  by  obsidian  knives  ixtliy  and  Moquauhzoma 
by  a  mouse-trap  montli.,  an  eagle  quauhtll.,  a  lancet  zo, 
and  a  hand  mnitl.  As  a  syllable  could  be  expressed 
by  any  object  whose  name  commenced  with  it,  as  few 
words  can  be  given  the  form  of  a  rebus  without  some 
change,  as  the  figures  sometimes  represent  their  full 
phonetic  value,  sometimes  oply  that  of  their  initial 
sound,  and  as  universally  the  attention  of  the  artist 
was  directed  less  to  the  sound  than  to  the  idea,  the 
didactic  painting  of  the  Mexicans,  whatever  it  might 
have  been  to  them,  is  a  sealed  book  to  us,  and  must 
remain  so  in  great  part.  Moreover,  it  is  entirely  un- 
determined whether  it  should  be  read  from  the  first 
to  the  last  page,  or  vice  versa.,  whether  from  right  to 
left  or  from  left  to  right,  from  bottom  to  top  or  from 
top  to  bottom,  around  the  edges  of  the  page  toward 
the  centre,  or  each  line  in  the  opposite  direction  from 
the  preceding  one.  There  are  good  authorities  for  all 
these  methods,  ^  and  they  may  all  be  correct,  for  there 
is  no  evidence  that  any  fixed  rule  had  been  laid  down 
in  this  respect.  • 

1  Tlipy  may  b3  found  in  Waitz,  .4  nthrop.  der  Naturvoelker,  iv. 
p.  173. ' 


DESTIWCTIOS  OF  AZTEC  MANUSCRIPTS.        13 

Immense  masses  of  such  documents  were  stored  in 

tli(!  iinporlal  archives  of  ancient  Mexico.    Torquemada 

asserts  that  five  cities  alone  yielded  to  the  Spanish 

governor   on   one  requisition    no   less   than  sixteen 

housand   volumes  or  scrolls  !     Every  leaf  was  de- 

troyed.     Indeed,  so  thoroufjh  and  wholesale  was  the 

lestruction  of  these  memorials,  now  so  precious  in 

our  eyeft,  that  hardly  enou«:(h  remain  to  whet  the 

vits  of  antiquaries.     In  the  libraries  of  Paris,  Dres- 

en,  Pesth,  and  the  Vatican  are,  however,  a  suffi- 

ient   number  to    make   us  despair   of  deciphering 

hem  had  we  for  comparison  all  Avhich  the  Spaniards 

estroyed. 

Beyond  all  others  the  IMayas,  resident  on  the  pen- 
insula of  Yucatan,  Avould  seem  to  have  approached 
earest  a  true  phonetic  system.     They  had  a  regular 
nd  well  understood  alphabet  of  twenty-seven  ele- 
entary  sounds,  the  letters  of  which  are  totally  dif- 
erent  from  those  of  any  other  nation,  and  evidently 
riginal  with  themselves.     But  besides  these  they 
sed  a  large  number  of  purely  conventional  symbols, 
nd  moreover  were  accustomed  constantly  to  employ 
e  ancient  pictographic  method  in  addition,  as  a  sort 
^f  commentary  on  the  sound  represented.     What  is 
inore  curious,  if  the  obscure  explanation  of  an  ancient 
riter   can  be  depnnded  upon,  they  not  only  aimed 
0  employ  an  alphabet  after  the  manner  of  ours,  but 
o  express  the  sound  absolutely  as  our  phonographic 
^igns  do.  ^     With  the  aid  of  this  alphabet,  which  has 


1  The  only  autliority  is  Diego  de  Lan-la,  Relacion  de  hm  Cosas 
Yh  Yucatan,  ed.  Brasseur,  Paris,  1864,  p.  318.  The  explanation 
Is  extremely  obscure  in  the  original.    I  have  given  it  in  the  only 


(H 


i  i 


I  - 


14  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

fortunately  been  preserved,  we  are  enabled  to  spell 
out  a  few  words  on  the  Yucatecan  manuscripts  and 
facades,  but  thus  far  with  no  positive  results.  The 
loss  of  the  ancient  pronunciation  is  especially  in  the 
wav  of  such  studies. 

In  South  America,  also,  there  is  said  to  have  been 
a  nation  who  cultivated  the  art  of  picture  writing, 
the  Panos,  on  the  river  Ucayale.  A  missionary, 
Narcisso  Gilbar  by  name,  once  penetrated,  with  great 
toil,  to  one  of  their  villages.  As  he  approached  he 
beheld  a  venerable  man  seated  under  the  shade  of  a 
palm-tree,  with  a  great  book  open  before  him  from 
which  he  was  reading  to  an  attentive  circle  of  audi- 
tors the  wars  and  wanderings  of  their  forefathers. 
With  difficulty  the  priest  got  a  sight  of  the  precious 
volume,  and  found  it  covered  with  figures  and  signs 
in  marvellous  symmetry  and  order.  ^  No  wonder 
such  a  romantic  scene  left  a  deep  impression  on  his 
memory. 

The  Peruvians  adopted  a  totally  different  and 
unique  system  of  records,  tliat  by  means  of  the  quipu. 
This  was  a  base  cord,  the  thickness  of  the  finger,  of 
any  required  length,  to  which  were  attached  numerous 

sense  in  which  the  author's  words  seem  to  have  any  meaning. 
Xw&qIxA  Bibliographic  PalSr/raphique  Am^ricaine  maybe  found 
in  the  Archices  PaUographiqiie  <le  VOrient  et  tie  C Amdrique^ 
1869.  M.  H  de  Charencey  has  attempted  several  translations 
of  the  Palenque  inscriptions  and  the  Mannscrit  Troano.  A  few 
years  ago  I  reproduced  the  ^laya  alphabet  in  a  pamphlet  on 
"  The  ancient  Phonetic  Alphabet  of  Yucatan."  A  remarkable 
study  of  its  pictorial  derivation  is  given  in  Dr.  Harrison  Allen's 
work,  The  Life  Form  in  Art.  Pliila.  1875. 
^  Humboldt,  Vues  des  Conlillh'es,  p.  72. 


PERUVIAN  SYSTEM  OF  RECORDS. 


15 


small  strings  of  different  colors,  lengths,  and  textures, 
variously  knotted  and  twisted  one  with  another. 
Each  of  these  peculiarities  represented  a  certain 
number,  a  quality,  quantity,  or  other  idea,  but  what^ 
not  the  most  fluent  quipu  reader  could  tell  unless  he 
was  acquainted  with  the  general  topic  treated  of. 
Therefore,  whenever  news  was  sent  in  this  manner,  a 
person  accompanied  the  bearer  to  serve  as  verbal 
commentator,  and  to  prevent  confusion  the  quipus 
relating  to  the  various  departments  of  knowledge 
were  placed  in  separate  storehouses,  one  for  war,  an- 
other for  taxes,  a  third  for  history,  and  so  forth.  On 
what  principle  of  mnemotechnics  the  ideas  were  con- 
nected with  the  knots  and  colors  we  are  very  much 
in  the  dark :  it  has  even  been  doubted  whether  they 
had  any  application  beyond  the  art  of  numeration.  ^ 
Each  combination  had,  however,  a  fixed  ideographic 
value  in  a  certain  branch  of  knowledge,  and  thus  the 
quipu  differed  essentiiilly  from  the  Catholic  rosary, 
the  Jewish  phylactery,  or  the  knotted  strings  of  the 
natives  of  North  America  and  Siberia,  to  all  of  which 
it  has  at  times  been  compared. 

The  wampum  used  by  the  tribes  of  the  north  At- 
lantic coast  was,  in  many  respects,  .analogous  to  the 
quipu.  In  early  times  it  was  composed  chiefly  of 
wood  and  shells  of  equal  size  but  different  colors. 
These  were  hung  on  strings  which  were  woven  into 
belts  and  bands,  the  hues,  shapes,  sizes,  and  combina- 
tions of  the  strings  hinting  their  general  significance. 
Thus  the  lighter  shades  were   invariable  harbingers 


^  Desjardins,  Le  P^rou  avant  la  Conqnete  Esj)a(/nole,  p.  122: 
Paris,   1858. 


16  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 


I 


of  peaceful  or  pleasant  tidings,  while  the  darker  por- 
tended war  and  danger.  The  designs  and  figures 
had  definite  meanings,  recognized  over  wide  areas. 

Besides  these,  various  simpler  mnemonic  aids  were 
employed,  such  as  parcels  of  reeds  of  different  lengths, 
notched  sticks,  knots  in  cords,  strings  of  pebbles  or 
fruit-stones,  circular  pieces  of  wood,  "small  wheels,"' 
or  slabs  pierced  with  different  figures  which  the  Eng- 
lish liken  to  "  cony  holes,"  and  at  a  victory,  a  treaty, 
or  the  founding  of  a  village,  sometimes  a  pillar  or  heap 
of  stones  was  erected  equalling  in  number  the  persons 
present  ai  the  occasion,  or  the  number  of  the  fallen. 

This  exhausts  the  list.  All  other  methods  of  wri- 
ting, the  hieroglyphs  of  the  Micmacs  of  Acadia,  the 
syllabic  alphabet  of  the  Cherokeeti,  the  pretended 
traces  of  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  Celtiberic  letters  which 
have  from  time  to  time  been  brought  to  the  notice  of 
the  public,  have  been  without  exception  the  products 
of  foreign  civilization  or  simple  frauds.  Not  a  single 
coin,  inscription,  or  memori  ^  of  any  kind  whatever, 
has  been  found  on  the  American  continent  showing 
the  existence,  either  generally  or  locally,  of  any  other 
means  of  writing  than  those  specified. 

Poor  as  these  substitutes  for  a  developed  phonetic 
system  seem  to  us,  they  were  of  great  value  to  the 
nncultivated  man.  In  his  legends  their  introduction 
is  usually  ascribed  to  some  heaven-sent  benefactor, 
the  antique  characters  were  jealously  adhered  to,  and 
the  pictured  scroll  of  bark,  the  quipu  ball,  the  belt 
of  wampum,  were  treasured  with  provident  care,  and 


\ 


^  Reported  of  the  Oenocks,  an  Algonkin  tribe,  by  J.  Lederer, 
Discoveries,  p.  4. 


f  •■ 


VALUE  OF  THE  NATIVE  RECORDS. 


17 


their  import  minutely  expounded  to  the  most  intelli- 
gent of  the  rising  generation.  In  all  communities 
beyond  the  stage  of  barbarism,  a  class  of  persons  was 
set  ai)art  for  this  duty  and  no  other.  Thus,  for  ex- 
ample, in  ancient  Peru,  one  college  of  priests  styled 
amauta^  learned,  had  excluf?ive  charge  over  the  quipua 
containing  the  mythological  and  historical  traditions ; 
a  second,  the  haravecs,  singers,  devoted  themselves  to 
those  referring  to  the  national  ballads  and  dramas ; 
while  a  third  occupied  their  time  solely  with  those 
pertaining  to  civil  affairs.  Such  custodians  preserved 
and  prepared  the  archives,  learned  by  heart  with 
their  aid  what  their  fathers  knew,  and  in  some  coun- 
tries, as,  for  instance,  among  the  Panos  mentioned 
above,  and  the  Quiches  of  Guatemala,*  repeated  poi*- 
tions  of  them  at  times  to  the  assembled  populace.  It 
has  even  been  averred  by  one  of  their  converted 
chiefs,  long  a  missionary  to  his  fellows,  that  the  Chipe- 
Avays  of  Lake  Superior  have  a  college  composed  of 
ten  "  of  the  wisest  and  most  venerable  of  their  na- 
tion," who  have  in  charge  the  pictured  records  con- 
taining the  ancient  history  of  their  tribe.  These  are 
kept  in  an  underground  chamber,  and  are  disinterred 
every  fifteen  years  by  the  assembled  guardians,  that 
they  may  be  repaired,  and  their  contents  explained 
to  new  members  of  the  society.  '^  Mr.  Horatio  Hale 
tells  me  that  the  Iroquois  preserve  a  similar  institu- 
tion to  keep  up  the  interpretation  of  their  wampum 
belts. 


1  An  instiince  is  given  by  Ximenea,   Origen  de  los  Indios  de 
Guatemala,  p.  186:  Vienna,  1856. 

*  George  Copway,  Traditional  History  of  the  Ojibxcay  Nation^ 
p.  130:  London,  1850. 

2 


! 


I  i 


18  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

In  spite  of  these  precautions,  the  end  seems  to  have 
been  very  imperfectlj'^  attained.  The  most  distin- 
guished characters,  the  weightiest  events  in  national 
history  faded  into  oblivion  after  'a  few  generations. 
The  time  and  circumstances  of  the  formation  of  the 
league  of  the  Five  Nations,  the  dispersion  of  the 
mound  builders  of  the  Ohio  valley  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  chronicles  of  Peru  or  Mexico  beyond  a 
century  or  two  anterior  to  the  conquest,  are  preserved 
in  such  a  vague  and  contradictory  manner  that  they 
have  slight  value  as  history.  Their  mythology  fared 
somewhat  better,  for  not  only  was  it  kept  fresh  in 
the  memory  by  frequent  repetition  ;  but  being  itself 
founded  in  nature,  it  was  constantly  nourished  by  the 
truths  which  gave  it  birth.  Nevertheless,  we  may 
profit  by  the  warning  to  remember  that  their  myths  are 
myths  only,  and  not  the  reflections  of  history  or 
heioes.   ■  •  ' 

Rising  from  these  details  to  a  general  comparison 
of  the  symbolic  and  phonetic  systems  in  their  reac- 
tions on  the  mind,  the  most  obvious  are  their  con- 
trasted effects  on  the  faculty  of  memory.  Letters 
represent  elementary  sounds,  which  are  few  in  any 
language,  while  symbols  stand  for  ideas,  and  they  are 
numerically  infinite.  The  transmission  of  knowledge 
by  means  of  the  latter  is  consequently  attended  with 
most  disproportionate  labor.  It  is  almost  as  if  we 
could  quote  nothing  from  an  author  unless  we  could 
recollect  his  exact  words.  We  have  a  right  to  look 
for  excellent  memories  where  such  a  mode  is  in  vogue, 
and  in  the  present  instance  we  are  not  disappointed. 
"These  savages,"  exclaims  La  Hontan,  "have  the 
happiest  memories  in  the  world  I"     It  was  etiquette 


EFFECT  OF  SYMBOLIC  WRITING  ON  THE  MIND.   19 

at  their  councils  for  each  speaker  to  repeat  verbatim 
all  his  predecessors  had  said,  and  the  whites  were 
often  astonished  and  confused  at  the  verbal  fidelity 
with  which  the  natives  recalled  the  transactions  of 
long  past  treaties.  Their  songs  were  inexhaustible. 
An  instance  is  on  record  where  an  Indian  sang  two 
hundred  on  various  subjects.^  Such  a  fact  reminds 
us  of  a  beautiful  expression  of  the  elder  Humboldt : 
"  Man,"  he  says,  "  regarded  as  an  animal,  belongs  to 
one  of  the  singing  species ;  but  his  notes  are  always 
associated  with  ideas."  The  youth  who  were  edu- 
cated at  the  public  schools  of  ancient  Mexico — for 
that  realm,  so  far  from  neglecting  the  cause  of  popu- 
lar education,  established  houses  for  gratuitous  in- 
struction, and  to  a  certain  extent  made  the  attend- 
ance upon  them  obligatory — learned  by  rote,  long 
orations,  poems,  and  prayers  with  a  facility  astonish- 
ing to  the  conquerors,  and  surpassing  anything  they 
were  accustomed  to  see  in  the  universities  of  Old 
Spain.  A  phonetic  system  actually  weakens  the  re- 
tentive powers  of  the  mind  by  offering  a  more  facile 
plan  for  preserving  thought.  "  Ce  que  je  mets  8ur 
papier^  je  remets  de  ma  memoire  "  is  an  expression  of 
old  Montaigne  which  he  could  never  have  used  had 
he  employed  ideographic  characters. 

Memory,  however,  is  of  far  less  importance  than 
a  free  activity  of  thought,  untrammelled  by  forms  or 
precedents,  and  ever  alert  to  novel  combinations  of 
ideas.  Give  a  race  this  and  it  will  guide  it  to  civil- 
ization as  surely  as  the  needle  directs  the  ship  to  its 
haven.     It  is  here  that  ideographic  writing  reveals 


^  Morse,  lieporl  on  the  Indian  Tribes,  App.  p.  352. 


[ 


Is 


i 


I   I 


20  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

its  fatal  inferiority.  It  is  forever  specifying,  mater- 
ializing, dealing  in  minutiae.  In  the  Egyptian  sym- 
bolic alphabet  there  is  a  figure  for  a  virgin,  another 
for  a  married  woman,  for  a  widow  without  offspring, 
for  a  widow  with  one  child,  two  children,  and  I 
know  not  in  how  many  other  circumstances,  but  for 
woman  there  is  no  sign.  It  must  be  so  in  the  nature 
of  things,  for  the  symbol  represents  the  object  as  it 
appears  or  is  fancied  to  appear,  and  not  as  it  is 
thought.  Furthermore,  the  constant  learning  by 
heart  infallibly  leads  to  heedless  repetition  and 
mental  servility. 

A  symbol  when  understood  is  independent  of  sound, 
and  is  as  universally  current  as  an  Arabic  numeral. 
But  this  divorce  of  spoken  and  written  language  is  of 
questionable  advantage.  It  at  once  destroys  all  per- 
manent improvement  in  a  tongue  through  elegance 
of  style,  sonorous  periods,  or  delicacy  of  expression* 
and  the  life  of  the  language  itself  is  weakened  when 
its  forms  are  left  to  fluctuate  uncontrolled.  Written 
poetry,  grammar,  rhetoric,  all  are  impossible  to  the 
student  who  draws  his  knowledge  from  such  a  source. 

Finally,  it  has  been  justly  observed  by  the  young- 
er Humboldt  that  the  painful  fidelity  to  the  antique 
figures  transmitted  from  barbarous  to  polished  gen- 
erations is  injurious  to  the  sesthetic  sense,  and  dulls 
the  mind  to  the  beautiful  in  art  and  nature. 

The  transmission  of  thought  by  figures  and  sym- 
bols would,  on  the  whole,  therefore,  foster  those 
narrow  and  material  tendencies  which  the  genius  of 
polysynthetic  language?  seems  calculated  to  produce. 
Its  one  redeeming  trait  of  strengthening  the  memory 
will  serve  to  explain  the  strange  tenacity  with  which 


i  i 


NOTABLE  TRAITS. 


21 


1  ! 


»g- 


lls 


certain  myths  have  been  preserved  through  widely 
dispersed  families,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see. 

Besides  this  of  language  there  are  two  traits  in  the 
history  of  the  red  man  without  parallel  in  that  of  any 
other  variety  of  our  species  which  has  achieved  anj 
notable  progress  in  civilization. 

The  one  is  his  isolation.  Cut  off  time  out  of  mine, 
from  the  rest  of  the  world,  he  never  underwent  those 
crossings  of  blood  and  culture  which  so  modified  and 
on  the  whole  promoted  the  growth  of  the  Old  World 
nationalities.  In  his  own  way  he  worked  out  hia 
own  destiny,  and  what  he  won  was  his  with  a  more' 
than  ordinary  right  of  ownership.  For  all  those 
old  dreams  of  the  advent  of  the  Ten  Lost  Tribes,  of 
Buddhist  priests,  of  Northern  sea  kings,  of  Welsh 
princes,  or  of  Phenician  merchants  on  American  soil, 
and  there  exerting  a  permanent  influence,  have  been 
consigned  to  the  dust-bin  by  every  unbiased  student, 
and  when  we  see  learned  men  essaying  to  resuscitate 
them,  we  regretfully  look  upon  it  in  the  light  of  a 
literary  anachronism.  The  most  competent  observers 
are  agreed  that  American  art,  whatever  similarities 
may  be  found  in  it  to  that  of  the  Old  World,  bears 
an  undoubted  stamp  of  indigenous  growth.  ^ 

The  second  trait  is  the  entire  absence  of  the  herds- 
man's life  with  its  softening  associations.  Through- 
out the  continent  there  is  not  a  single  authentic  in- 
stance of  a  pastoral  tribe,  not  one  of  an  animal  raised 
for  its  milk,  ^    but  one  for  the  transportation  of  per- 


1  See  Kfivl  Scherzer,  Die  Rulnen  von  Quirugud,  p.  11 ;  Squier, 
The  Primeval  Monuments  of  Peru,  p.  16. 

2  Goniara  slates  that  De  Ayllon  found  tribes  on  the  Atlantic 


22  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

sons,  and  very  few  for  their  flesh.  It  was  essentially 
a  hunting  race.  The  most  civilized  nations  looked 
to  the  chase  for  their  chief  supply  of  meat,  and  the 
courts  of  Cuzco  and  Mexico  enacted  stringent  game 
and  forest  laws,  and  at  certain  periods  the  whole  pop- 
ulation turned  out  for  a  general  crusade  against  the 
denizens  of  the  forest.  In  the  most  densely  settled 
districts  the  conquerors  found  vast  stretches  of  prim- 
itive woods. 

If  we  consider  the  life  of  a  hunter,  pitting  his  skill 
and  strength  against  the  marvellous  instincts  and  quick 
perceptions  of  the  brute,  training  his  senses  to  preter- 
natural acuteness,  but  blunting  his  more  tender  feel- 
ings, his  sole  aim  to  shed  blood  and  take  life,  depend- 
G\i  on  luck  for  his  food,  exposed  to  deprivations, 
storms,  and  long  wanderings,  his  chief  diet  flesh,  we 
may  more  readily  comprehend  that  conspicuous  dis- 
regard of  human  suffering,  those  sanguinary  rites,  that 
vindictive  spirit,  that  inappeasable  restlessness,  which 
we  so  often  find  in  the  chronicles  of  ancient  America. 
The  old  English  law  objected  to  accepting  a  butcher 
as  a  juror  on  a  trial  for  life ;  here  is  a  whole  race  of 
butchers. 

The  one  softening  element  was  agriculture.  On 
the  altar  of  Mixcoatl,  god  of  hunting,  the  Aztec  priest 
tore  the  heart  from  the  human  victim  and  smeared 
with  the  spouting  blood  the  snake  that  coiled  its 
lengths  around  the  idol ;  flowers  and  fruits,  yellow 
ears  of  maize  and  clusters  of  rich  bananas  decked  the 

shore  not  far  from  Cape  Hatteras,  keeping  flocks  of  deer  (ciervos) 
and  from  their  milk  making  cheese  (Hist,  de  las  Indias,  cap. 
43).    I  give  no  credence  to  this  statement. 


li! 


MODES  OF  SUBSISTENCE. 


S3 


shrine  of  Centeotl,  beneficent  patroness  of  agriculture, 
and  bloodless  offerings  alone  were  her  appropriate 
dues.  This  shows  how  clear,  even  to  the  native 
mind,  was  the  contrast  between  these  two  modes  of 
subsistence.  By  substituting  a  sedentary  for  a  wan- 
dering life,  by  supplying  a  fixed  dependence  for  an 
uncertain  contingency,  and  by  admonishing  man  that 
in  preservation,  not  in  destruction,  lies  his  most  re- 
munerative sphere  of  activity,  we  can  hardly  estimate 
too  highly  the  wide  distribution  of  the  zea  mays. 
This  was  their  only  cereal,  and  it  was  found  in  culti- 
vation from  the  southern  extremity  of  Chili  to  the 
fiftieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  beyond  which  limits 
the  low  temperature  renders  it  an  uncertain  crop.  In 
their  legends  it  is  represented  as  the  gift  of  the  Great 
Spirit  (Chipeways),  brought  from  the  terrestrial 
Paradise  by  the  sacred  animals  (Quiches),  and  sym- 
bolically the  mother  of  the  race  (Nahuas),  and  the 
material  from  which  was  moulded  the  first  of  men 
(Quiches). 

As  the  races,  so  the  great  families  of  man  who 
speaks  dialects  of  the  same  tongue  are,  in  a  sense, 
individuals,  bearing  each  its  own  phj'^siognomy.  When 
the  whites  first  heard  the  uncouth  gutturals  of  the 
Indians,  they  frequently  proclaimed  that  hundreds 
of  radically  diverse  languages,  invented,  it  was  pi- 
ousiy  suggested,  by  the  Devil  for  the  annoyance  of 
missionaries,  prevailed  over  the  continent.  Earnest 
students  of  such  matters — Vater,  Daponceaii,Gallatin 
and  Buschmann — have,  however,  demonstrated  that 
nine-tenths  of  the  area  of  America,  at  its  discovery, 
was  controlled  by  tribes  using  dialects  traceable  to 
ten  or  a  dozen  primitive  stems.     The  names  of  these, 


■  ■ 


I 


24  GEyEIiAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

their  geographical  position  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
and,  so  far  as  it  is  safe  to  do  so,  their  individual  char- 
acter, I  shall  briefly  mention. 

Fringing  the  shores  of  the  Northern  Ocean  from 
Mount  St.  Elias  on  the  west  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence on  the  east,  rarely  seen  a  hundred  miles  fronj 
the  coast,  were  the  Eskimos.  ^  They  are  the  connect- 
ing link  between  the  races  of  the  Old  and  New 
Worlds,  in  physical  api)earance  and  mental  traits 
more  allied  to  the  former,  but  in  language  betraying 
their  nearer  kinship  to  the  latter.  An  amphibious 
race,  born  fishermen,  in  their  buoyant  skin  kayaks 
they  fearlessly  meet  the  tempests,  make  long  voyages, 
and  merit  the  8obri(piet  bestowed  upon  them  by  Von 
Baer,  "-the  Phenicians  of  the  north."  Contrary  to 
what  one  might  suppose,  they  are,  amid  their  snows,  a 
contented,  light-hearted  people,  knowing  no  longing 
for  a  sunnier  clime,  given  to  song,  music,  and  merry 
tales.  They  are  cunning  handicraftsmen  to  a  degree, 
but  withal,  wholly  ingulfed  in  a  sensuous  existence. 


1  The  name  Eskimo  is  from  tlie  Algoiikin  word  Eskimantick, 
eaters  of  raw  flosh.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  at  one  time 
they  possessed  the  Atlantic  coast  considerably  to  the  south. 
The  Northmen,  in  the  year  1000,  found  tlie  natives  of  Vinland, 
probably  near  Rhode  Island,  of  the  same  race  as  they  were 
familiar  with  in  Labrador.  They  contemptuously  call  them 
Sk-ralijif/ar,  chips,  and  describe  them  as  numerous  and  short  of 
stature  (Eric  llothens  Saga,  in^Iiieller,  Saf/crnh'bliothel-,  p. 214). 
Tt  is  curious  that  the  traditions  of  the  Tuscaroras,  who  placed 
their  ariival  on  the  Yirguiian  coast  about  1300,  spoke  of  the 
race  they  found  tliere  (called  Tacci  or  Dogi)  as  eaters  of  raw 
flesh  and  ignorant  of  maize  (Lederer,  Account  of  North  Amenca, 
iu  Harris,  Voyages). 


THE  ATHAPASCAN  STOCK. 


2S 


The  desperate  struggle  for  life  engrosses  tliera,  and 
their  niytholo^j^y  is  barren. 

Soiitii  of  ihem,  extending  in  a  broad  band  aeross 
the  continent  from  Hudson  liay  to  tlie  Pacific,  and 
almost  to  the  (xreat  Lakes  below,  is  the  Athapascan 
stock.  Its  affiliated  tribes  rove  far  north  to  the 
mouth  of  the  jMackenzie  River,  and  wandering  still 
more  widely  in  an  opposite  direction  along  both  de- 
clivities of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  people  portions  of 
the  coast  of  Oregon  south  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia,  and  spreading  over  the  plains  of  New 
Mexico,  under  the  names  of  Apaches,  Navajos,  and 
Lipans,  almost  roacli  the  tropics  at  the  delta  of  the 
Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  and  on  the  shores  of  the  Gulf 
of  California.  No  wonder  they  deserted  their  father- 
land and  forgot  it  altogether,  for  it  is  a  very  terra 
damnata,  whose  wretched  inhabitants  are  cut  off  alike 
from  the  harvest  of  the  sea  and  the  harvest  of  the 
soil.  The  profitable  culture  of  maize  does  not  ex- 
tend beyond  the  fiftieth  parallel  of  latitude,  and  less 
than  seven  degrees  farther  north  the  mean  annual 
temperature  everywhere  east  of  the  mountains  sinks 
below  the  freezing  point.^  Agriculture  is  impossible, 
and  the  only  chance  for  life  lies  in  the  uncertain  for- 
tunes of  the  chase  and  the  peuui-ious  gifts  of  an  arctic 
flora.  The  denizens  of  these  wilds  are  abject,  slovenly, 
hopelessly  savage,  "  at  tlie  bottom  of  the  scale  of 
liumanity  in  North  America,"  sfiys  Dr.  Richardson, 
and  their  relatives  who  have  wandered  to  tlie  more 
genial  climes  of  the  south  are  as  savage  as  they,  as 
perversely  hostile  to  a  sedentary  life,  as  gross  and 


1  llichartlHon,  Arctic  Expedition,  p.  :i7l. 


20  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

narrow  in  their  moral  notions.  This  wide-spread 
stock,  scalLered  over  forty-five  degrees  of  hititude, 
covering  thousands  of  bi^uare  leagues,  reaching  from 
the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  conlines  of  the  ancient  empire 
of  the  Montezumas,  presents  in  all  its  subdivisions 
the  same  mental  physiognomy  and  linguistic  peculi- 
arities. ^ 

Best  known  to  us  of  all  the  Indians  are  the  Al- 
gonkins  and  Iroquois,  peoples  of  wholly  diverse  de- 
scent and  languag*^  who,  at  the  time  of  the  discovery, 
were  the  sole  possessors  of  the  region  now  embraced 
by  Canada  and  the  eastern  United  States  north  of  the 
thirty-fifth  parallel.  The  latter,  under  tlie  names  of 
the  Five  Nations,  Hurons,  Tuscaroras,  Susquehan- 
nocks,  Nottoways  and  others,  occupied  mucli  of  the 
soil  from  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  Ontario  to  the 
Roanoke,  and  perhaps  the  Cherokees,  whose  homes 
were  in  the  secluded  vales  of  East  Tennessee,  were  one 
of  their  early  offshoots.  *  They  were  a  race  of  warriors, 


^  The  late  Professor  W.  W.  Turner  of  Wasliington,  and  Pro- 
fessor Busclnnaiiii  of  Berlin,  are  the  two  scliolars  who  have 
traced  the  boundaries  of  this  widely  disi»orsed  family.  The 
name  is  drawn  from  Lake  Athapasca  in  British  America.  Mr. 
Bancroft  gives  a  long  list  of  their  sub-tribes.  Native  Races  of 
the  Pacific  States,  III.,  p.  503. 

2  The  Cherokee  tongue  has  a  limited  number  of  words  in  com- 
mon with  the  Iroquois,  and  its  structural  similarity  is  close.  Tlio 
name  is  of  unknown  origin.  It  should  doubtless  be  spelled  Tsa- 
iakie,  a  plural  form,  almost  the  same  as  that  of  tlie  river  Tellico, 
properly  Tsaliko  (Ramsey,  Annals  of  Tennessee,  p.  87),  on  the 
banks  of  which  their  principal  towns  Avere  situated.  Adair's 
derivation  from  cheera,  fire,  is  worthless,  as  no  such  word  exists 
in  their  language. 


u 


THE  ALGONKTNS  AND  IROQUOIS. 


37 


le 
's 


coiirageourt,  cruel,  unimagiiiutiie,  but  of  rare  political 
sagacity.  Tlicy  are  -uore  liivc  ancient  Romans  than 
Indians,  and  are  leading  figures  in  the  colonial  wars, 
riio  Algonkins  surrounded  them  on  every  side,  oc- 
cui)ying  the  rest  of  the  region  mentioned,  and  running 
westward  to  tlie  base  of  the  Rocky  Moimtains,  where 
one  of  tlieir  famous  bands,  the  lilackfcet,  still  hunts 
over  the  valley  of  the  Saskatchewan.  Tliey  were 
more  genial  than  the  Iroquois,  of  milder  manners 
and  more  vivid  fancy,  and  were  regarded  by  these 
with  a  curious  mixture  of  respect  and  contempt. 
Some  writer  has  connected  this  difference  with  their 
preference  for  the  open  prairie  country  in  contrast 
to  the  endless  and  sombre  forests  where  were  the 
homes  of  the  Iroquois.  Their  history  abounds  in 
great  men,  whose  ambitious  plans  were  foiled  by  the 
levity  of  their  allies  and  their  want  of  persistence. 
They  it  was  who  under  King  Philip  fought  the  Pu- 
ritan -fathers;  who  at  the  instigation  of  Pontiac 
doomed  to  death  every  white  trespasser  on  their  soil ; 
who,lcd  by  Tecumseh  and  Black  Hawk, gathered  the 
clans  of  the  forest  and  mountain  for  the  last  pitched 
battle  of  the  races  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  To  them 
belonged  the  mild  mannered  Lenni  Lenape,  who  little 
foreboded  the  hand  of  iron  that  grasped  their  own  so 
softly  under  the  elm-tree  of  Shackamaxon;  to  them 
the  restless  Shawnee,  the  gypsy  of  the  wilderness;  the 
Chipeways  of  Lake  Superior;  and  also  to  them  the 
Indian  girl  Pocahontas,  who  in  the  legend  averted 
from  the  head  of  the  white  man  the  blow  which, re- 
bounding, swept  away  her  father  and  all  his  tribe.^ 

1  The  term  Algoukin  may  be  a  corruption  of  agomeegmn, 


I 


28  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 


I 

i 


Between  their  southernmost  outposts  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  were  a  number  of  clans,  mostly  speaking 
dialects  of  the  Chahta-Muskokee  tongue,  including 
tlie  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  Creeks  or  Muskokees, 
the  Natchez  of  Louisiana,  and  the  Apalaches  and 
Seminoles  of  Florida.  Their  common  legend  states 
that  long  ago  they  entered  this  district  from  the 
west,  and  destroyed  or  allied  themselves  with  its 
earlier  occupants.  The  lichees  and  Tirmuquas  be- 
longed to  these.  At  the  discovery,  the  Chahta- 
Muskokee  dialects  stretched  from  the  mountaii  i  to 
the  Florida  keys,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Missis- 
sippi. But  no  trace  of  the  tongue  existed  on  the 
Bahamas  or  Antilles.^ 

North  of  the  Arkansas  River  on  the  right  bank  of 


1  * 

I 
I 

i 


people  of  the  other  shore.  Algic,  often  used  synonymously,  is 
an  adjective  manufactured  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft  "from  the  M'ords 
Alleghany  and  Atlantic  "  {Algic  Researches,  ii.  p.  12).  There 
is  no  occasion  to  accept  it,  as  there  is  no  objection  to  employ- 
ing Algonkin  both  as  substantive  and  adjective.  Iroquois  is  a 
French  compound  of  the  native  words  hiro,  I  have  said,  and 
kou^,  an  interjection  of  assent  or  api^lause,  terms  cons'  ntly 
lieard  in  their  councils. 

1  Since  the  first  edition  of  this  work  appeared  I  have  given 
considerable  attention  to  this  interesting  family.  The  results 
ai'e  contained  in  several  papers  published  by  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  under  the  titles  :  Contributions  to  a  Gram- 
mar of  the  Musl'okee  Language,  and  On  the  Language  of  the 
Natchez;  in  my  edition  of  Byington's  Grammar  of  the  Choctaw- 
and  in  The  National  Legend  of  the  Chahta-Muskokee  Tribes, 
1870.  The  views  in  regard  to  the  relationship  of  the  Natchez 
and  Mayas,  expressed  in  the  former  edition,  have  not  been 
confirmed  by  the  accessions  to  the  vocabularies  of  that  tribe 
which  I  liave  since  obtained  from  one  of  its  last  representa- 
tives. 


THE  DAK0TA8. 


29 


r" 


the  Mississippi,  quite  to  its  source,  stretching  over  to 
Lake  Michigan  at  Green  Bay,  and  up  the  valley  of 
tlie  Missouri  west  to  the  mountains,  resided  the  Da- 
kotas,  an  erratic  folk,  averse  to  agriculture,  but  dar- 
ing hunters  and  bold  warriors,  tall  and  strong  of 
body.  ^  Their  religious  notions  have  been  carefully 
studied,  and  as  they  are  remax>ably  primitive"  and 
transparent,  they  will  often  be  referred  to.  The 
Sioux  and  the  Winnebagoes  are  well-known  branches 
of  this  family,  and  by  some  strange  chance,  one  frag- 
ment of  it,  the  Tuteloes,  was  found  east  of  the  Al- 
leghanies,  in  Virginia. 

We  have  seen  that  Dr.  Richardson  assigned  to  a 
portion  of  the  Athapascas  the  lowest  place  among 
North  American  tribes,  but  there  are  some  in  New 
Mexico  who  might  contest  the  sad  distinction,  the 
Root  Diggers,  Comanches  and  others,  members  of 
the  Snake  or  Shoshonee  family,  scattered  extensively 
northwest. of  Mexico.  It  has  been  said  of  a  part  of 
these  that  they  are  "  nearer  the  brutes  than  probably 
any  other  portion  of  the  human  race  on  the  face  of 
the  globe."  ^  Their  habits  in  some  respects  are  more 
brutish  than  those  of  any  brute,  for  there  is  no  limit 
to  man's  moral  descent  or  ascent,  and  the  observer 
might  well  be  excused  for  doubting  whether  such  a 
stock  ever  had  a  history  in  the  past,  or  the  possibility 
of  one  in  the  future.  Yet  these  debased  creatures 
speak  a  dialect  with  faint  traces  of  a  noble  kinship, 
and  partake  in  some  measure  of  the  same  blood  as 
the  famous  Aztec  race,  who  founded  the  empire  of  Ana- 


M 


Id 


^  Dakota,  a  native  word,  means  friends  or  allies. 

2  Rep.  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1854,  p.  209. 


^ 


80  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

huac,  and  raised  architectural  monuments  xivalling 
the  most  famous  structures  of  the  ancient  world. 
This  great  family,  whose  language  has  been  traced 
from  Nicaragua  to  Vancouver's  Island,  and  whose  bold 
intellects  colored  much  of  the  civilization  of  the 
northern  continent,  was  composed  in  that  division  of  it 
found  in  New  Spain  chiefly'of  two  bands,  the  Toltecs, 
whose  traditions  point  to  the  mountain  ranges  of 
Guatemala  as  their  ancient  seat,  and  the  Nahuas,  who 
claim  to  have  come  at  a  later  period  fiom  the  north- 
Avest  coast,  and  together  settled  in  and  near  the  val 
ley  of  Mexico.^    Outlying  colonies   on  the  shore  of 


!    li 


!    iif 


1  According  to  Professor  Buscliniann,  Aztec  is  probably  from 
izUic,  white,  and  Xaliuatlacatl  signifies  thoss  who  speak  the  lan- 
gnage  A^'a^wa/^,  clear  sounding,  sonorous.  The  Abbe  Brasseur 
(de  Bourbourg),  on  the  other  hand,  derives  the  latter  from  the 
Quiche  naical,  iutelligejit,  and  adds  tli3  amazing  information 
that  this  is  identical  with  the  English  know  all !  !  {Hist,  de 
Mexique,  etc.,  i.  p.  102).  For  in  his  theory  several  languages 
of  Central  America  are  derived  from  the  same  old  Indo-Ger- 
manic  stock  as  the  English,  German,  and  cognate  tongues.  Tol- 
tec,  from  Toltecall,  means  inhabitant  of  Tollan,  which  latter 
may  be  from  toVm,  rush,  and  signify  the  place  of  rnsiies.  The 
signification  artificer,  often  assigned  to  Toltecatl,  is  of  later 
date,  atid  was  derived  from  tlie  famed  artistic  skill  of  this  early 
folk  (Buschmann,  Aztek.  Ortsnamen,  p.  682:  Berlin,  1852). 
'J"he  Toltecs  are  usually  spoken  of  as  anterior  to  the  Xahuas, 
but  the  Tlascaltecs  and  natives  of  Cholollan  or  Ciiolula  were  in 
fact  Toltecs,  unless  we  assign  to  this  latter  name  a  merely  myth- 
ical signification.  The  early  migrations  of  the  two  Aztec 
bands  and  their  relationship,  it  may  be  s'aid  in  passing,  are  as 
yet  extremely  obscure.  The  Shoshonee's  when  fiist  known  dwelt 
as  far  north  as  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri,  and  in  the 
country  now  occupied  by  the  Black  Feet.  Their  language,. which 
includes  that  of  the  Comanche,  AVihinasht,  Utah,  and  kindred 


THE  AZTECS  AND  MAYAS. 


81 


Lake  Nicaragua  and  in  the  mountains  of  Vera  Paz 
rose  to  a  civilization  that  rivalled  that  of  the  Mon- 
tezumas,  while  others  remained  in  utter  barbarism  in 
the  far  north. 

Tiie  Aztecs  not  only  conquered  a  Maya  colony, 
and  founded  thb  empire  of  the  Quiches  in  Central 
America,  a  complete  body  of  whose  mythology  has 
been  brought  to  light  in  late  years,  but  seem  to  have 
made  a  marked  imprint  on  the  jVIayas  themselves. 
These  possessed,  as  has  already  been  said,  the  penin- 
sula of  Yucatan.  One  of  their  colonies  was  the  Hu- 
astecasjwho  lived  on  the  river  Panuco.  Their  lan- 
guage is  radically  distinct  from  that  of  the  Aztecs,  but 
their  calendar  and  a  portion  of  their  mythology  are 
common  property.  They  seem  an  ancient  race,  of 
mild  manners  and  considerable  polish.  No  Ameri- 
can nation  offers  a  more  promising  field  for  study. 
Their  stone  temples  still  bear  testimony  to  their  un- 
common skill  in  the  arts.  A  trustworthy  tradition 
dates  the  close  of  the  golden  age  of  Yucatan  a  cen- 
tury anterior  to  its  discovery  by  Europeans.  Pre- 
viously it  had  been  one  kingdom,  under  one  ruler,  and 
prolonged  peace  had  fostered  the  growth  of  the  fine 
arts;  Ix.t  when  their  capital  MayajDan  fell,  internal 
disseiA  I'/'AS  ruined  most  of  their  cities. 

No  coiii  '.action  whatever  has  been  shown  between 

the  civilization  of  North  and  South  America.     In  the 

'latter  continent  it  was  confined  to  two  totally  foreign 

bauds,  wa,s  first  sliown  fco  have  many  and  markod  affinities  with 
that  of  the  Aztecs  by  Professor  liusclunann  in  his  great  work, 
Ueher  die  Spuren  <ler  Aztekhdinn  Sprache  iiii  non/lichen  ISFexico 
and  hoheren  Amerikanischea  Novden,  p.  618  :  Berlin,  1851. 


i 


i   ! 


V 


I  ' 


82  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

tribes,  the  Muyscas,  whose  empire,  called  that  of  the 
Zacs,  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bogota,  and  the 
Peruvians,  who  were  divided  into  two  primary  divis- 
ions, the  one  the  Quichuas,  including  the  closely  re- 
lated Incas  and  Aymaras,  possessing  the  Andean  re- 
gion, and  the  Yuncas  of  the  coast.  The  former  were 
the  dominant  tribe,  and  their  sway  extended  from  the 
second  parallel  of  north  latitude  to  the  twentieth 
south,  embracing  a  territory  about  fifteen  hundred 
miles  in  length  by  four  hundred  in  width.  Lake 
Titicaca  seems  to  have  been  the  cradle  of  their  civil- 
ization, offering  another  example  how  inland  seas  and 
well-watered  plains  favor  the  change  from  a  hunting 
to  an  agricultural  life. 

These  four  nations,  the  Aztecs,  the  Mayas,  the 
Muyscas  and  the  Peruvians,  developed  spontaneously 
and  independently  under  the  laws  of  human  progress 
what  civilization  was  found  among  the  red  race.  They 
owed  nothing  to  Asiatic  or  European  teachers.  The 
Incas  it  was  long  supposed  spoke  a  language  of  their 
own,  and  this  has  been  thought  evidence  of  foreign  ex- 
traction ;  but  Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  has  shown  con- 
clusively that  it  was  but  a  dialect  of  the  common 
tongue  of  their  country.* 

1  His  opinion  was  founded  on  an  analysis  of  fifteen  words  of 
the  secret  language  of  the  Incas  preserved  in  the  Royal  Commen- 
taries of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega.  On  examination,  they  all 
proved  to  be  modified  forms  from  tlie  lent/ua  general  (Meyen, 
Ueber  die  Urehmohner  von  Peru,  p.  0).  The  Quichuas  of  Peru 
must  not  be  confoimded  with  the  Quiches  of  Guatemala. 
Quiche  is  the  name  of  a  place,  and  means  "  many  trees  ;  "  the 
word  Quichua  may  signify  "twisted  straw."  Muyscas  means 
"  men."  This  nation  also  called  themselves  Chibchas.  On  the 
ancient  geography  of  Peiu,  the  best  article  is  that  of  Clemert 
B.  Markham,  Jour,  of  the  Royal  Geog.  Soc. ,  1871. 


THE  CAlilBS. 


83 


"When  Columbus  first  touched  the  island  of  Cuba, 
he  was  regaled  with  horrible  stories  of  one-eyed 
monsters  who  dwelt  on  the  other  islands,  but 
plundered  indiscriminately  on  every  hand.  These 
turned  out  to  be  the  notorious  Caribs,  whose  other 
name,  Cannibals,  has  descended  as  a  common  noun  to 
our  language,  expressive  of  one  of  their  inhuman 
practices.  These  warlike  sea-robbers  extended  their 
plundering  voyages  to  Cuba  and  Haiti,  even  to  Hon- 
duras and  Yucatan,  but  pointed  for  their  home  to  the 
mainland  of  South  America.  This  they  possessed 
along  the  whole  northern  shore,  inland  at  least  as  far 
as  the  south  bank  of  the  Amazon,  and  west  nearly  to 
the  Cordilleras.  They  won  renown  as  bold  fighters, 
daring  navigators  and  skilled  craftsmen.  Yet  the 
evidence  of  language  is  conclusive  that  they  were 
not  remotely  related  to  their  victims,  the  mild  and 
unambitious  natives  whom  Columbus  found  on  the 
Bahamas,  Cuba  and  Haiti.  These  in  turn  were 
without  doubt  a  branch  of  the  Arawacks  who  to  this 
day  dwell  in  British  and  Dutch  Guiana  ;  and  they 
again  are  an  offshoot  of  the  great  Tupi-Guaranay 
stem,  which  scattered  its  tribes  over  the  vast  region 
between  the  Amazon  and  the  Pampas.  ^ 

Our  information  of   the  natives  of  the  Pampas, 
Patagonia,  and  the  Land  of  Fire,  is  too  vague  to  per- 


1  The  significance  of  Carib  is  probably  warrior.  It  may  be 
the  same  word  as  Guarani,  which  also  has  this  meaning.  Tupi 
orTuiia  is  the  name  given  the  thmider,  and  should  be  under- 
stood mj^thically.  On  the  affiliations  of  the  various  tribes 
mentioned  in  the  text  I  would  refer  the  reader  to  my  essay, 
The  Arawnc/c  Language  of  Guiana  in  its  linguisitic  and  Ethnologi- 
cal Relatione.  Phila.,  1871. 

3 


li 


i 


J 


f  -1 


84  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

mit  their  positive  identification  with  the  Araucanians 
of  Chili ;  but  there  is  much  to  render  the  view  plau- 
sible. Certain  physical  peculiarities,  a  common  un- 
coiiquerable  love  of  freedom,  and  a  delight  in  war, 
bring  them  together,  and  at  the  same  time  place 
them  both  in  strong  contrast  to  their  northern  neigh- 
bors.' 

There  are  many  tribes  whose  affinities  remain  to 
be  d(3cided,  especially  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  lack 
of  inland  water  communication,  the  difficult  nature 
of  the  soil,  and  perhaps  the  greater  antiquity  of  the 
population  there,  seem  to  have  isolated  and  split  up 
beyond  recognition  the  indigenous  families  on  that 
shore  of  the  continent ;  while  the  great  river  systems 
and  broad  plains  of  the  Atlantic  slope  facilitated 
migration  and  intercommunication,  and  thus  pre- 
served national  distinctions  over  thousands  of  square 
leagues.  . 

These  natural  features  of  the  continent,  compared 
with  the  actual  distribution  of  languages,  are  our 
only  guides  in  forming  an  opinion  as  to  the  migra- 
tions of  these  various  families  in  ancient  times.  Their 
traditions,  take  even  the  most  cultivated,  are  confused, 
contradictory,  and  in  great  part  manifestly  fabulous. 
To  construct  from  them  by  means  of  daring  combina- 
tions and  forced  interpretations  a  connected  account 
of  the  race  during  Ihf  centuries  preceding  Columbus, 
were  with  the  aid  of  a  vivid  fancy  an  easy  matter,  but 


i\  ? 


i. 


'  The  Araucanians  probably  obtained  their  name  from  two 
Quichua  words,  ari  auccan,  yes  !  they  fight ;  an  idiom  very  ex- 
pressive of  their  warlike  character.  They  had  had  long  and 
terrible  wars  with  the  Incas  before  the  arrival  of  Pizarro. 


CO URSE  OF  MIGRA TIONS. 


85 


would  be  quite  unworthy  the  name  of  history.  The 
most  that  can  be  said  with  certainty  is  that  the  gen- 
eral course  of  migrations  in  both  Americas  was  from 
the  high  latitudes  toward  the  tropics,  and  from  the 
great  western  cl  ain  of  mountains  toward  the  east. 
No  reasonable  doubt  exists  but  that  the  Athapascas, 
Algonkins,  Iroquois,  Chahta-Muskokees  and  Aztecs 
all  migrated  from  the  north  and  west  to  the  regions 
they  occupied.  In  South  America,  curiously  eriongli, 
the  direction  is  reversed.  The  widespread  Tupi- 
Guaranay  stem,  and  the  Quichuas  seem  to  have  wan- 
dered forth  from  the  steppes  and  valleys  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  toward  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  where  they  came  in  collision  with  that  other 
wave  of  migration  surging  down  from  high  northern 
latitudes.  For  the  banks  of  the  river  Paraguay  and 
the  steppes  of  the  Bolivian  Cordilleras  are  the  earliest 
traditional  homes  of  both  Tupis  and  Quichuas. 

These  movements  took  place  not  in  large  bodies 
under  the  stimulus  of  a  settled  purpose,  but  step  by 
step,  family  by  family,  as  the  older  hunting-grounds 
became  too  thickly  peopled.  This  fact  hints  unmis- 
takably at  the  gray  antiquity  of  the  race.  It  were 
idle  even  to  guess  how  great  this  must  be,  but  it  is 
possible  to  set  limits  to  it  in  both  directions.  On  the 
one  hand,  not  a  tittle  of  evidence  is  on  record  to  c^vvy 
the  age  of  man  in  America  beyond  the  present  geo- 
logical epoch.  Dr.  Lund  examined  in  Brazil  more 
than  eight  hundred  caverns,  out  of  -which  number 
only  six  contained  human  bones,  and  of  these  six  only 
one  had  with  the  human  bones  those  of  animals  nov»' 
extinct.  Even  in  that  instance  the  original  stratifica- 
tion had  been  disturbed,  and  probably  the  bones  had 


SI 


80  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

been  interred  there.  ^  The  same  is  true  of  the  caves 
of  California,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  This  is 
strong  negative  evidence.  So  in  every  other  example 
where  an  unbiased  and  competent  geologist  has  made 
the  examination,  the  alleged  discoveries  of  human 
remains  in  the  older  strata  have  proved  erroneous. 

The  cranial  forms  of  the  American  aborigines  have 
by  some  been  supposed  to  present  anomalies  distin- 
guishing their  race  from  all  others,  and  even  its  chief 
families  from  one  another.  This,  too,  falls  to  the 
ground  before  a  rigid  analysis.  The  last  word  of 
craniology,  which  at  one  time  promised  to  revolu- 
tionize ethnology  and  even  history,  is  that  no  one 
form  of  the  skull  is  peculiar  to  the  natives  of  the  New 
World ;  that  in  the  same  linguistic  family  one  glides 
into  another  by  imperceptible  degrees;  'and  that 
there  is  as  much  diversity  among  them  in  this  respect 
as  among  the  races  of  the  Old  Continent.  '^  Peculi- 
arities of  structure,  though  they  may  pass  as  general 
truths,  offer  no  firm  foundation  whereon  to  construct 
a  scientific  ethnology.  Anatomy  shows  nothing 
unique  in  the  Iixdian,  nothing  demanding  for  its  de- 
velopment any  special  antiquity,  still  less  an  original 
diversity  of  type. 

On  the  otlierhand,  the  remains  of  primeval  art  and 
the  impress  he  made  upon  nature  bespeak  for  man  a 
residence  in  the  New  AVorld  coeval  with  the  most 
distant  events  of  history.     By  remains  of  art  1  do 


1  Com  plea  Rend  us,  vol.  xxi.,  p.  1308  sqq. 

2  The  best  aiitlioritles  on  craniolog-y  accord  in  the  views  ex- 
pressed in  the  text,  and  in  the  rejection  of  those  advocated  by 
Dr.  S.  G.  Morton  in  the  Crania  Americana. 


AGE  OF  MAN  IN  AMERICA. 


(^« 


•ill 


id 
a 

it 
Lo 


not  so  much  refer  to  those  desolate  palaces  which 
crumble  forgotten  in  the  gloom  of  tropical  woods, 
nor  even  the  enormous  earthworks  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  covered  with  the  mould  of  generations  of 
forest  trees,  but  rather  to  the  humbler  and  less  de- 
ceptive relics  of  his  kitchens  and  his  hunts.  On  the 
Atlantic  coast  one  often  sees  the  refuse  of  Indian  vil- 
lages, where  generation  after  generation  have  passed 
their  summers  in  fishing,  and  left  the  bones,  shells, 
and  charcoal  as  their  only  epitaph.  How  many  such 
summers  would  it  require  for  one  or  two  hundred 
people  thus  gradually  to  accumulate  a  mound  of  offal 
eight  or  ten  feet  high  and  a  hundred  yards  across,  as 
is  common  enough?  How  many  generations  to  heap 
up  that  at  the  mouth  of  the  Altamaha  River,  exam- 
ined and  pronounced  exclusively  of  this  origin  by  Sir 
Charles  Lyell,^  which  is  about  this  height,  and  covers 
ten  acres  of  ground?  Those  who,  like  myself,  have 
tramped  over  many  a  ploughed  field  in  search  of 
arrow-heads  must  have  sometimes  been  amazed  at 
the  numbers  which  are  sown  over  the  face  of  our 
country,  betokening  a  most  prolonged  possession  of 
the  soil  by  their  makers.  For  a  hunting  population  is 
always  sparse,  and  the  collector  fiiKls  only  those 
arrow-heads  which  lie  upon  the  surface.  Even  a  de- 
gree of  civilization  is  most  ancient ;  for  the  evidences 
are  abundant  that  the  mines  of  California  and  Lake 
Superior  were  worked  by  tribes  using  metals  at  a 
most  remote  epoch. 

Still  more  forcibly  does  nature  herself  bear  wit- 
ness to  this  antiquity  of  possession.     Botanists  de- 


i:1H 


1  Second  Visit  to  the  United  States,  i.  p.  252. 


•  ?.  t!i 


88  GENE  HAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  USD  RACE. 

clare  that  a  very  lengthy  course  of  cultivation  is 
required  so  to  alter  the  form  of  a  plant  that  it  can  no 
longer  be  identified  with  the  wild  species ;  and  still 
more  protracted  must  be  the  artificial  propagation  for 
it  to  lose  its  power  of  independent  life,  and  to  rely 
wholly  on  man  to  preserve  it  from  extinction.  Now 
this  is  precisely  the  condition  of  the  maize,  tobacco, 
cotton,  quinoa,  and  mandioca  plants,  and  of  that 
species  of  palm  called  by  botanists  the  Oulielma 
speciosa  ;  fill  have  been  cultivated  from  immemorial 
time  by  the  aborigines  of  America,  and,  except  cot- 
ton, by  no  other  race ;  all  no  longer  are  to  be  identi- 
fied with  any  known  wild  species ;  several  are  sure 
to  perish  unless  fost-ered  by  human  care.^  What 
numberless  ages  does  this  suggest  ?  How  many  cen- 
turies elapsed  ere  man  thought  of  cultivating  Indian 
corn  ?  How  many  more  ere  it  had  spread  over  nearly 
a  hundred  degrees  of  latitude,  and  lost  all  semblance 
to  its  original  form  ?  Who  has  the  temerity  to  an- 
swer these  questions?  The  judicious  thinker  will 
perceive  in  them  satisfactory  reasons  for  dropping 
once  for  all  the  vexed  inquiry,  "  how  America  was 
peopled,"  and  will  smile  at  its  imaginary  solutions, 
whether  they  suggest  Jews,  Japanese,  or,  as  the  latest 
theory  is,  Egyptians. 

While  these  and  other  considerations  testify  forci- 
bly to  that  isolation  I  have  already  mentioned,  they 
are  almost  equally  positive  for  an  extensive  inter- 

•  1  Martius,  Von  dem  Rechtzustande  unter  den  Ureinwohnern 
Brasiliens,  p.  80  :  Muenchen,  1832  ;  republished  in  his  Bei- 
trage  zur  EthnograpJiie  und  Sprachenkunde  Amerika's  :  Leipzig, 
1867 ;  see  also  Lucien  de  Rosny,  Le  Tahac  et  ses  Acces- 
soircs  parmiles  Indigenes  deVAmerique.     Paris,  18G5. 


THE  RACE  AS  A  UNIT. 


80 


course  in  very  distant  ages  between  the  great  families 
of  the  race,  and  for  a  prevalent  unity  of  mental  type, 
or  jierhaiw  they  hint  at  a  still  visible  oneness  of  de- 
scent. In  their  stage  of  culture,  the  maize,  cotton, 
and  tobacco  could  hardly  have  spread  so  widely  by 
commerce  alone.  Then  there  are  verbal  similarities 
running  through  wide  families  of  languages  which, 
in  the  words  of  Professor  IJuschmann,  are  "calcu- 
lated to  fill  us  with  bewildering  amazement,"  ^  some 
of  which  will  hereafter  be  jiointed  out ;  and  lastly, 
passing  to  the  psychological  constitution  of  the  race, 
we  may  quote  the  words  of  a  sharp-sighted  naturalist, 
whose  monograph  on  one  of  its  tribes  is  unsurpassed 
for  profound  reflections  :  "  Not  only  do  all  the  primi- 
tive inhabitants  of  America  stand  on  one  scale  of  re- 
lated culture,  but  that  mental  condition  of  all  in 
which  humanity  chiefly  mirrors  itself,  to  wit,  their 
religious  and  moral  consciousness,  this  source  of  all 
other  inner  and  outer  conditions,  is  one  with  all, 
however  diverse  the  natural  influences  under  which 
they  live."  * 

Penetrated  with  the  truth  of  these  views,  all  arti- 
ficial divisions  into  tropical  or  temperate,  civilized 
or  barbarous,  will  in  the  present  work,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, be  avoided,  and  the  race  will  be  studied  as  a 
unit,  its  religion  as  the  development  of  ideas  common 
to  all  its  members,  and  its  myths  as  the  garb  thrown 


■Q 


1  Athnpaskische  Sprachst^mm,  p.  164:  Berlin,  1856.  Mr. 
Bancroft  (Native  Races,  III.,  p.  559),  who  cites  two  instances 
in  point,  is  ai>parently  unaware  that  Prof.  Buschmann  had 
already  noticed  the  same  ones. 

2  Martins,  Von  dem  Rechlzustande  unter  den  Ureinwohnern 
Bras  Hie  ns,  "p.  77.    .  -^    r 


Mi 


40  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

around  these  ideas  by  imaginations  more  or  less  fer- 
tile, but  seeking  everywhere  to  embody  the  same 
notions. 


BIHLTOGRAPIIICAL  NOTE. 

As  the  subject  of  American  mytholojify  is  a  new  one  to  most 
readei's,  and  as  in  its  discussion  everything  depends  on  a  careful 
selection  of  aiitliorities,  it  is  well  at  the  outset  to  review  very 
briefly  what  has  already  been  writt(Mi  upon  it,  and  to  assign  the 
relative  amount  of  weight  that  in  the  following  pages  will  be 
given  to  the  works  most  frequently  quoted.  The  conclusions  I 
hare  arrived  at  are  so  different  from  those  who  have  previously 
touched  upon  the  topic  that  such  a  step  seems  doubly  advisable. 

The  first  who  undertook  a  philosophical  survey  of  American 
religions  was  Dr.  Samuel  Fainier  Jarvis,  in  1819  (A  Discourse 
on  the  Religion  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  North  America,  Collec- 
tions of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  vol.,  iii.,  New  York, 
1821).  lie  confined  himself  to  the  tribes  north  of  Mexico,  a 
difficult  portion  of  the  field,  and  at  that  time  not  very  well 
known.  The  notion  of  a  state  of  primitive  civilization  prevent- 
ed Dr.  Jarvis  from  forming  any  correct  estimate  of  the  native 
religions,  as  it  led  him  to  look  upon  them  as  deteriorations  from 
purer  faiths  instead  of  developments.  Thus  he  speaks  of  them 
as  having  "  departed  less  than  among  any  other  nation  from 
the  form  of  primeval  truth,"  and  also  mentions  their  "  wonder- 
ful uniformity  "  (pp.  219,  221). 

The  well-known  American  ethnologist,  Mr.  E.  G.  Squier, 
has  also  published  a  work  on  the  subject,  of  wider  scope  than 
its  title  indicates  (The  Serpent  Symbol  in  America,  New  York, 
1851).  Though  written  in  a  much  more  liberal  spirit  than  the 
preceding,  it  is  in  the  interests  of  a  school  of  mythology  now 
discredited.  Thus,  with  a  sweeping  generalization,  he  says : 
"  The  religions  or  superstitions  of  the  American  nations,  how- 
ever different  they  may  appear  to  t'le  superficial  glance,  arc 
rudimentally  the  same,  and  are  only  modifications  of  that 
primitive   system   which  under  its  physical  aspect  has   been 


WRITERS  ON  AMERICAN  MYTHOLOGY. 


4t 


I! 


denominated  Sun  or  Fire  worship"  (p.  111).  With  this  he 
combiuea  the  doctrine,  that  the  chief  topic  of  mythology  is  the 
adoration  of  the  generative  power  ;  and  to  rescue  such  views 
from  their  materializing  tendencies,  imagines  to  counterbalance 
them  a  clear,  universal  monotheism.  *'  We  claim  to  have 
shown,"  he  says  (p.  151),  "  that  the  grand  conception  of  a 
Supreme  Unity  and  the  doctrine  of  the  reciprocal  principles 
existed  in  America  in  a  well-defined  and  clear'y  recognized 
form;  "  and  elsewhere  that  "  the  monotheistic  idea  stands  out 
clearly  in  all  the  religions  of  America  "  (p.  151). 

The  government  work  on  the  Indians  (inntory,  Conditions 
and  Pronpects  of  tlie  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States)  pub- 
lished at  Washington,  1851-9,  was  unfortunate  in  its  editor.  It 
is  a  monument  of  American  extravagance  and  superficiality. 
Mr.  Schoolcraft  was  a  man  of  deficient  education  and  narrow 
prejudices,  pomjjous  in  style,  and  inaccurate  in  statements.  The 
information  from  original  observers  it  contains  is  often  of  real 
value,  but  the  general  views  on  aboriginal  history  and  religion 
are  shallow. 

A  German  professor,  Dr.  J.  G.  Miiller,  has  written  quite  a 
voluminous  work  on  American  Primitive  Religions  (Genchichte 
der  Amerikanisvhen  Ur-rell(/ionen,  pp.  707  :  Basel,  1855).  His 
theory  is  that  "  at  the  south  a  worship  of  nature  with  the  adora- 
tion of  the  sun  as  its  centre,  at  the  north  a  fear  of  spirits  com- 
bined with  fetichism,  made  up  the  two  fundamental  divisions 
of  the  religion  of  the  red  race  "  (pp.  89,  90).  This  imaginary 
antithesis  he  traces  out  between  the  Algonkin  and  Apalachian 
tribes,  and  between  the  Toltecs  of  Guatemala  and  the  Aztecs  of 
Mexico.  His  quotations  are  nearly  all  at  second-hand,  and  so 
little  does  he  criticise  his  facts  as  to  confuse  the  Vaudoux  wor- 
ship of  the  Haitian  negroes  with  that  of  Votan  in  Chiapa. 

Very  much  better  is  the  Anthropology  of  the  late  Dr.  Theodore 
Waitz  {Anthropologic  der  Naturvcelker :  Leipzig,  1862-66).  No 
more  comprehensive,  sound,  and  critical  work  on  the  indigenes 
of  America  has  ever  been  written.  But  on  their  religions  the 
author  is  unfortunately  defective,  being  led  astray  by  the  hasty 
and  groundless  generalizations  of  others.  His  great  anxiety, 
moreover,  to  subject  all  moral  sciences  to  a  realistic  philosophy, 
was  peculiarly  fatal  to  any  correct  appreciation  of  religious 
growth,  and  his  views  are  neither  new  nor  tenable. 


42  GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS  ON  THE  RED  RACE. 

For  a- different  reason  I  must  condemn  the  late  enthusiastic 
and  meritorious  antiquary,  the  Abb-j  E.  Charles  Brasseur  'da 
Bourbourg),  in  both  his  interpretations  of  American  myths,  the 
first  that  they  are  history,  the  second  that  they  record  geology  ! 

While  heartily  regretting  the  use  he  made  of  them,  all  inter- 
ested in  American  antiquity  cannot  too  much  thank  this  inde- 
fatigable explorer  for  the  priceless  materials  h<?  unearthed  in 
the  libraries  of  Spain  and  Central  America,  and  laid  before  the 
public.  For  the  present  purpose  the  most  significant  of  these  is 
the  Sacred  National  Book  of  the  Quiches,  a  tribe  of  Guatemala. 
This  contains  their  legends,  written  in  the  original  tongue,  and 
transcribed  by  Father  Francisco  Ximenes,  about  1725.  The 
manuscripts  of  this  missionary  "were  used  early  in  the  present 
century,  by  Don  Felix  Cabrera,  but  were  supposed  to  be  entirely 
lost  even  by  the  Abbd  Brasseur  himself  in  1850  (^Lettre  &  M.  le 
Due  de  Valmy,  Mexique,  Oct.  15,  1850).  Made  aware  of  their 
importance  by  the  expressions  of  r-^gret  used  in  the  Abbd'a 
letters,  Dr.  C.  Scherzer,  in  1854,  was  fortunate  enough  to  dis- 
cover them  in  the  library  of  the  Uuiversity  of  San  Carlos  in  the 
city  of  Guatemala.  The  legends  were  in  Quiche,  with  a  Span- 
ish translation  and  scholia.  The  Spanish  was  copied  by  Dr. 
Scherzei'  and  published  in  '^'^ionna,  in  185&,  under  the  title  Las 
Historias  del  Origen  de  los  Indios  de  Gualemala,  por  el  R.  P.  F. 
Francisco  Ximenes.  In  1855,  the  Abbe  Brasseur  took  a  copy  of 
the  original  which  he  brought  out  at  Paris  in  1861,  with  a  trans- 
lation of  his  own,  under  the  title  Vuh  Popol :  Le  Litre  Sacr/ 
des  Quiches  et  les  Mijthes  de  V AntiquiU  AmMcaine.  Internal 
evidence  proves  that  these  legends  were  written  down  by  a  con- 
verted native  some  time  in  the  seventeenth  century.  They 
carry  the  national  history  back  about  two  centuries,  beyond 
which  all  is  professedly  mythical.  Although  both  translations 
are  colored  by  the  peculiar  views  of  their  makers,  this  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  bodies  of  American  mythology  extant. 

Another  authority  of  inestimable  value  has  been  placed  with- 
in the  reach  of  scholars  during  the  last  few  years.  This  is  tho 
lieJations  de  la  Xouvelle  France,  containing  the  annual  reports 
of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  among  the  Iroquois  and  Algonkins 
from  and  at'Lcv  1011.  JMy  references  ^o  this  are  always  to  the 
reprint  at  Quebec,  1858.     Of  not  less  excellence   for  another 


WRITERS  ON  AMERICAN  MTTHOLOOT.  43 

tribe,  the  Creeks,  is  the  brief  '«  Sketch  of  the  Creek  Country," 
by  Col.  Benjamin  Hawkins,  written  about  1800,  and  first  pub- 
lished in  full  by  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  in  1848.  The 
recent  able  collation  of  Mr.  H.  H.Bancroft,  "The  Native 
Races  of  the  Pacific  States,"  contains  some  previously  unpub- 
lished myths  ;  but  1  acknowledge  a  hesitation  in  making  use  of 
such  late  material,  for  fear  the  old  stories  of  the  gods  have 
been  leavened  by  missionary  instructions.  The  same  remark 
applies  to  the  very  careful  collection  of  Prof.  Carl  Knortz,  Sagen 
der  Nord  A  merikvnischen  Indianer.  Most  of  the  other  works  to 
which  I  have  referred  are  too  well  known  to  need  any  special 
examination  here,  or  will  be  more  particularly  mentioned  in 
the  foot-notes  when  quoted. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 

A  dediictiou  of  reason  common  to  the  species, — Words  expressing  it  in 
American  languages  derived  either  from  ideas  of  above  in  space,  or  of 
life  manifested  by  breath. — Examples. — No  conscious  monotheism,  and 
but  little  idea  of  immateriality  discoverable. — Still  less  any  moral 
dualism  of  deities,  the  Great  Good  Spirit  and  the  Great  Bad  Spirit  beiiig 
alike  terms  and  notions  of  foreign  importation. 

IF  we  accept  the  definition  that  mythology  is  the  idea 
of  God  expressed  in  symbol,  figure,  and  narra- 
tive, and  always  struggling  toward  a  clearer  utter- 
ance, it  is  well  not  only  to  trace  this  idea  in  its  very 
earliest  embodiment  in  language,  but  also,  for  the 
sake  of  comparison,  to  ask  what  is  its  latest  and  most 
approved  expression.     The  reply  to  this  is  given  us 
by  Immanuel  Kant.     He  has  shown  that  our  reason, 
dwelling  on  the  facts  of  experience,  constantly  seeks 
the  principles  which  connect  them  together,  and  only 
rests  satisfied  in  the  conviction  that  there  is  a  highest 
and  first  principle  which  reconciles  all  their  discre- 
pancies and  binds  them  into  one.     This  he  calls  the 
Ideal  of  Reason.     It  must  be  true,  for  it  is  evolved 
from  the  laws  of  reason,  our  only  test  of  truth.  Fur- 
thermore, the  sense  of  personality  and  the  voice  of 
conscience,  analyzed  to  their  sources,  can  be  explained 
only  by  the  assumption   of  an  infinite  personality 
and  an  absolute  standard  of  right.    Or,  if  to  some  all 
this  appears  but  wire-drawn,  metaphysical  subtlety, 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


45 


they  are  welcome  to  the  definition  of  tne  realist,  that 
the  idea  of  God  is  the  sum  of  those  intelligent  activi- 
ties which  the  individual,  reasoning  from  the  analogy 
of  his  own  actions,  imagines  to  be  behind  and  to 
bring  about  natural  phenomena.  If  either  of  these 
be  correct,  it  were  hard  to  conceive  how  any  tribe  or 
even  any  gane  man  could  be  without  some  notion  of 
divinity. 

Certainly  in  America  no  instance  of  its  absence 
has  been  discovered.  Obscure,  grotesque,  unworthy 
it  often  was,  but  everywhere  man  was  oppressed  with 
a  sensus  numinis^  a  feeling  that  invisible,  powerful 
agencies  were  at  work  around  him,  who,  as  they 
willed,  could  help  or  hurt  him.  In  every  heart  was 
an  altar  to  the  Unknown  God.  Not  that  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  attach  any  idea  of  unity  to  these  unseen 
powers.  The  supposition  that  in  ancient  times  and 
in  very  unenlightened  conditions,  before  mythology 
had  grown,  a  monotheism  prevailed,  whicli  after- 
wards at  various  times  was  revived  by  reformers,  is  a 
belief  that  should  have  passed  away  when  the  de- 
lights of  savage  life  and  the  praises  of  a  state  of 
nature  ceased  to  be  the  themes  of  philosophers.  We 
are  speaking  of  a  people  little  capable  of  abstraction. 
The  exhibitions  of  force  in  nature  seemed  to  them 
the  manifestations  of  that  mysterious  power  felt  by 
their  self-consciousness ;  to  combine  these  various 
manifestations  and  recognize  them  as  the  operations 
of  one  personality,  was  a  step  not  easily  taken.  Yet 
He  is  not  far  from  every  one  of  us.  "Whenever 
man  thinks  clearly,  or  feels  deeply,  he  conceives  God 
as  self-conscious  unity,"  says  Carriere,  with  admirable 
insight ;  and  elsewhere,  "  We  have  monotheism,  not 


46 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


I-  i? 

i 


in  contrast  to  polytheism,  not  clear  to  the  thought, 
but  in  living  intuition  in  the  religious  sentiment."  ^ 

Thus  it  was  among  the  Indians.  Therefore  a  word 
is  usually  found  in  their  languages  analogous  to  none 
in  any  European  tongue,  a  word  comprehending  all 
manifestations  of  the  unseen  world,  yet  conveying  no 
sense  of  personal  unity.  It  has  been  rendered  spirit, 
demon,  God,  devil,  mystery,  magic,  but  commonly 
and  rather  absurdly  by  the  English  and  French, 
"medicine."  In  the  Algonkin  dialects  this  word 
is  manito  and  oki^  in  Iroquois  oki  and  otkon^  in  the 
Hidatsa  hopa^  the  Dakota  has  wakan^  the  Aztec  teotl^ 
the  Quichua  huaca^  and  the  Maya  ku.  They  all  ex- 
press in  its  most  general  form  the  idea  of  the  super- 
natural. ^  And  as  in  this  word,  supernatural,  we  see 
a  transfer  of  a  conception  of  place,  and  that  it  liter- 
ally means  that  which  is  above  the  natural  world,  so 
in  such  as  we  can  analyze  of  these  vague  and  primi- 
tive terms  the  same  trope  appears  discoverable. 
Wakan  as  an  adverb  means  above,  oki  is  but  another 
orthography  for  oghee,  and  otkon  seems  allied  to 
hetken,  both  of  which  have  the  same  signification. 

The  transfer  is  no  mere  figure  of  speech,  but  has 
its  origin  in  the  very  texture  of  the  human  mind. 
The  heavens,  the  upper  regions,  are  in  every  religion 
the  supposed  abode  of  the  divine.     What  is  higher  is 


1  Die  Kunst  im  Zusammenhang  der  Culturentwickelung,  i.  pp. 
50,  252. 

2  On  wakan  see  Roehrig,  On  the  Language  of  the  Dakota, 
Smithsonian  Report,  1871 ;  on  manito,  Trumbull,  in  Old  and 
New,  March,  1870.  The  criticisms  of  the  latter  on  the  remark 
in  the  text  are  refuted  by  the  consideration  that  to  the  savage 
whatever  is  praeternatural  is  esteemed  divine. 


THE  SKY  AS  GOD. 


47 


always  the  stronger  and  the  nobler ;  a  superior  is 
one  who  is  better  than  we  are,  and  therefore  a  chief- 
tain in  Algonkin  is  called  oghee-ma^  the  higher  one. 
Proud,  in  Latin  superbus^  is  in  Dakota  wakanicidapf, 
etymologically  the  same.  There  is,  moreover,  a  naif 
and  spontaneous  instinct  which  leads  man  in  his 
ecstasies  of  joy,  and  in  his  paroxysms  of  fear  or  pain, 
to  lift  his  hands  and  eyes  to  the  overhanging  firma- 
ment. There  the  sun  and  bright  stars  sojourn,  em- 
blems of  glory  and  stability.  Its  azure  vault  has  a 
mysterious  attraction  which  invites  the  eye  to  gaze 
longer  and  longer  into  its  infinite  depths.  ^  Its 
color  brings  thoughts  of  serenity,  peace,  sunshine, 
and  warmth.  Even  the  rudest  hunting  tribes  felt 
these  sentiments,  and  as  a  metaphor  in  their  speeches, 
and  as  a  paint  expressive  of  friendly  design,  blue  was 
in  wide  use  among  them.*^ 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  idea  of  God  was  linked 
to  the  heavens  long  ere  man  asked  himself,  are  the 
heavens  material  and  God  spiritual,  is  He  one,  or  is 
He  many  ?  Numerous  languages  bear  trace  of  this. 
The  Latin  Dens,  the  Greek  Zeus,  the  Sanscrit  Dyaus, 
the  Chinese  Tien,  all  originally  referred  to  the  sky 
above,  and  our  own  word  heaven  is  often  employed 
synonymously  with  God.  There  is  at  first  no  per- 
sonification in  these  expressions.     They  embrace  all 


1  '•  As  the  high  heavens,  the  far-off  mountains  look  to  ns 
blue,  so  a  blue  superficies  seems  to  recede  from  us.  As  we 
would  fain  pursue  an  attractive  object  that  flees  from  us,  so  wq 
like  to  gaze  at  the  blue,  not  that  it  urges  itself  upon  us,  but 
that  it  draws  us  after  it."     Goethe,  Farbenlehre,  sees.  780,  781. 

2  Loskiel,  Geschichte  der  Mission  der  Evang.  Bruedcr,  p.  63  : 
Barby,  1789. 


48 


rilE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


unseen  agencies,  they  are  void  of  personality,  and 
yet  to  the  illogical,  primitive  man,  there  is  nothing 
contradictory  in  making  them  the  object  of  his 
prayers.  The  Mayas  had  legions  of  gods  ;  "  yfct«,"  says 
their  historian,  ^  "  does  not  signify  any  particnlar 
god ;  yet  their  prayers  are  sometimes  addressed  to 
Arw«!,"  which  is  the  same  word  in  the  vocative  case. 

As  the  Latins  called  their  united  divinities  Supert, 
those  above,  so  Captain  Johxi  Smith  found  that  the 
Powhatans  of  Virginia  employed  the  word  oH,  above, 
in  the  same  sense,  and  it  even  had  passed  into  a  defi- 
nite personification  among  them  in  the  shape  of  an 
"  idol  of  wood  evil-favoredly  carved."  In  purer  di- 
alects of  the  Algonkin  it  is  always  indefinite,  as  in 
the  terms  nipoon  oJci,  spirit  of  summer,  pipoon  oki^ 
spirit  of  winter.  Perhaps  the  word  was  introduced 
into  Iroquois  by  the  Hurons,  neighbo:s  and  associ- 
ates of  the  Algonkins.  The  Hurons  applied  it  to 
that  demoniac  power  "  who  rules  the  seasons  of  the 
year,  who  holds  the  winds  and  the  waves  in  leash* 
who  can  give  fortune  to  their  undertakings,  and 
relieve  all  their  wants."  ^  In  another  and  far  distant 
branch  of  the  Iroquois,  the  Nottoways  of  southern 
Virginia,  it  reappears  under  the  curious  form  quaker, 
doubtless  a  corruption  of  the  Powhatan  qui-oki,  lesser 
gods.  ■■'    The  proper  Iroquois  name  of  him  to  whom 


h.. 


t  i 


w 


1  Cogolludo,  Ilhtoria  ile  Yitcathan,  lib.  iv.  cap.  vii. 

a  liel.  delaNoHV.  France.     An.  1036,  p.   107. 

3  This  word  is  found  in  Gallatin's  vocabularies (TVansac/wn* 
of  the  Am.  Antiq.  Soc,  vol.  ii.),and  may  have  partially  induced 
that  distinguished  ethnologist  to  ascribe,  as  he  does  in  more 
than  one  place,  whatever  notions  the  eastern  tribes  had  of  a 
Supreme  Being  to  the  teachings  of  the  Quakers. 


THE  SOUL  AND  THE  BREATH. 


40 


I  I 


H 


they  prayed  was  garonhia,  which  again  turns  out  on 
examination  to  be  their  common  word  for  8%,  and 
again  in  all  probability  from  the  verbal  root  gar^  to 
be  above.^  The  Californian  tribes  spoke  of  their 
chief  deity  as  "  The  old  man  above."  ^  In  the  legends 
of  the  Aztecs  and  Quiches  such  phrases  as  "  Heart  of 
the  Sky,"  "  Lord  of  the  Sky,"  *'  Prince  of  the  Azure 
Planisphere,"  "  He  above  all,"  are  of  frequent  occur- 
rence, and  by  a  still  bolder  metaphor,  the  Araucan- 
ians,  according  to  Molina,  entitled  their  greatest  god 
"The  Soul  of  the  Sky." 

This  last  expression  leads  to  another  train  of 
thought.  As  the  philosopher,  pondering  on  the 
workings  of  self-consciousness,  recognizes  that  vari- 
ous pathways  lead  np  to  God,  so  the  primitive  man, 
in  forming  his  language,  sometimes  trod  one,  some- 
times another.  Whatever  else  skeptics  have  ques- 
tioned, no  one  has  yet  presumed  to  doubt  that  if  a 
God  and  a  soul  exist  at  all,  they  -'.re  of  like  essence. 
This  firm  belief  has  left  its  impress  on  language  in 
the  names  devised  to  express  the  supernal,  the  spirit- 
ual world.  If  we  seek  hints  from  languages  more 
familiar  to  us  than  the  tongues  of  the  Indians,  and 
take  for  example  this  word  spiritual^  we  find  it  is 
from  the  Latin  sptrare^  tc  blow,  to  breathe.  If  in 
Latin  again  we  look  fi-r  tht  derivation  of  animus,  the 
mind,  anima,  the  soul,  tLey  point  to  the  Greek 
aneinos,  wind,  and   a^'mi,  to  blow.     In   Greek  the 


^  Bruyas,  Radices  Verhorum  Iroquceornm,  p.  84.  This  work 
is  in  Shea's  Library  of  American  Linguistics,  and  is  a  most 
valuable  contribution  to  philology.  The  same  etymology  is 
given  by  Lafitau,  Mceurs  dcs  Sauvagcs,  etc.,  Germ,  trans.,  p.  G5. 

2  Bancroft,  Native  Races,  iii.  158.  ' 


1 

V 

■ 

i 

i 

' 

k 

i 

- 

■ 

ij 

* 

r 

t  1 

! 

f  1 

1'  ' 

1 

1 

H 

i 

Ij 

1 

, 

■■  1 

so 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


words  for  soul  or  spirit,  pauche,  pneuma^  tJiumos,  all 
are  directly  from  verbal  roots  expressing  the  motion 
of  the  wind  or  the  breath.  The  Hebrew  word  ruah 
is  translated  in  the  Old  Testament  sometimes  by 
wind,  sometimes  by  spirit,  sometimes  by  breath.  The 
Egyptian  Kiieph  is  another  instance  in  point.  Etymo- 
logically,  in  fact,  ghosts  and  gusts,  breaths  and 
breezes,  the  Great  Spirit  and  the  Great  Wind,  are 
one  and  the  same.  It  is  easy  to  guess  the  reason  of 
this.  The  fouI  is  the  life,  the  life  is  the  breath.  In- 
visible, imponderable,  quickening  with  vigorous 
motion,  slackening  in  rest  and  sleej),  passing  quite 
away  in  death,  it  is  the  most  obvious  sign  of  life.  All 
nations  grasped  the  analogy  and  identified  the  one 
with  the  other.  But  the  breath  is  nothing  but  wind. 
How  easy,  therefore,  to  look  ujDon  the  wind  that 
moves  up  and  down  and  to  and  fro  upon  the  earth, 
that  carries  tlie  clouds,  itself  unseen,  that  calls  forth 
the  terrible  tempests  and  the  various  seasons,  as  the 
breath,  the  spirit  of  God,  as  God  himself  ?  So  in  the 
Mosaic  record  of  creation,it  is  said  "a  mighty  wind  " 
passed  over  the  formless  sea  and  brought  forth  the 
world,  and  when  the  Almighty  gave  to  the  cla}'  a 
living  soul,  he  is  said  to  have  breathed  into  it  "  the 
wind  of  lives." 

Armed  with  these  analogies,  we  turn  to  the  primi- 
tive tongues  of  America,  and  find  them  there  as  dis- 
tinct as  in  the  Old  World.  In  Dakota  niya  is  liter- 
ally breath,  figuratively  life ;  Elliott  in  his  Bible 
translates  soul  by  nashanonJc,  a  breathing  ;  in  Netela 
fiuts  is  life,  breath,  and  soul ;  silla^  in  Eskimo,  means 
air,  it  means  wind,  but  it  is  also  the  word  that  con- 
veys the  highest  idea  of  the  world  as  a  whole,  and 


GOD  IN  THE  WIND. 


&] 


the  reasoning  faculty.  The  supreme  existence  they 
call  Slllam  Innua^  Owner  of  the  Air,  or  of  the  All ; 
or  Sillam  Nelega^  Lord  of  fhe  Air  or  Wind.  In  the 
Yakama  tongue  of  Oregon  wkrisha  signifies  there  is 
wind,  wkrishwit,  life  ;  with  the  Aztecs,  ehecatl  ex- 
pressed both  air,  life,  and  the  soul,  and*  personified  in 
their  myths  it  was  said  to  have  been  born  of  the 
breath  of  Tezcatlipoca,  their  highest  divinity,  who 
himself  is  often  called  Yoalliehecatl,  the  Wind  of 
Night.  ^ 

The  descent  is,  indeed,  almost  imperceptible  which 
leads  to  the  personification  of  the  wind  as  God,  which 
merges  this  manifestation  of  life  and  power  in  one 
with  its  unseen,  unknown  cause.  Thus  it  is  a  worthy 
epithet  which  the  later  Creeks  apply  to  the  supreme 
ruler,  when  they  address  him  as  IIesaketumkse,  Source 
of  Breath;  and  doubtless  it  was  at  first  but  a  title 
of  equivalent  purport  which  the  Cherokecs,  their 
neighbors,  were  wont  to  employ,  Oonawleh  unggi. 
Eldest  of  Winds,  but  rapidly  leading  to  a  complete 
identification  of  the  divine  with  the  natural  pheno- 
mena of  meteorology.  This  seems  to  have  taken 
place  in  the  same  group  of  nations,  for  the  original 
Choctaw  word  for  Deity  is  given  as  Hushtoli,  the 
Storm   Wind.  ^     The   idea,   indeed,  was   constantly 


1  My  authorities  are  Riggs,  Diet,  of  the  Dakota,  Boscana,  Ac- 
count of  Neio  California,  Richardsr\'s  and  Egede's  Eskimo 
Vocabularies,  Pandosy,  Gram,  and  Diet,  of  the  Ya^'ima  (Shea's 
Lib.  of  Am.  Linguistics),  and  the  Abbe  Brasseur  for  the  Aztec. 

2  These  terms  are  found  in  Gallatin's  vocabularies.  The  last 
mentioned  is  not,  as  Adair  thought,  derived  frojn  issto  idla  or 
ishto  hoollo,  strong  man  (properly  hatak  kollo),  for  in  Choctaw 
the  adjective  cannot  {^recede  the  noun  it  qualifies.  Its  true 
sense  seems  visible  iu  the  analogous  Creek  word  hotvle,  the  wind. 


h*i 


63 


THE  IDEA  OF  COD. 


* 


\  ! 


being  lost  in  the  symbol.  In  the  legends  of  the 
Quiches,  the  mysterious  creative  power  is  Hukakan, 
a  name  of  no  signification  in  their  language,  one 
which  some  have  thought  they  brought  from  the 
Antilles,  which  finds  its  meaning  in  the  ancient  tongue 
of  Haiti,  and  which,  under  the  forms  of  hurricane^ 
ouragan^  orkan^  was  adopted  into  European  marine 
languages  as  the  native  name  of  the  terrible  tornado 
of  the  Caribbean  Sea.  ^  Mixcbhuatl,  the  Cloud  Ser- 
pent, chief  divinity  of  several  tribes  in  ancient  Mexi- 
co, is  to  this  day  the  correct  term  in  their  lan- 
guage for  the  tropical  whirlwind,  and  the  natives  of 
Panama  worshipped  the  same  phenomenon  under  tho 
name  Tuyra.  ^  To  kiss  the  air  was  in  Peru  the  com- 
monest and  simplest  sign  of  adoration  to  the  collec- 
tive divinities.  ^ 


!* 


1  Webster  derives  hurricane  from  the  Latin  furio.  But 
Oviedo  tells  us  in  his  description  of  Ilispaniola  that  "  Hurakan, 
in  lingua  di  questa  isola  vuole  dire  propriamente  fortuna  tem- 
pestuosa  molto  eccessiva,  perche  en  efEetto  non  h  altro  que  un 
grandissimo  vento^  pioggia  insieme."  Historia  deW  Indie,  lib- 
vi.  cap.  iii.  The  word  Hurakan  is  puzzling  in  its  presence  in 
Yucatan.  I  cannot  doubt  it  is  from  a  Tupi  root.  Denis 
in  his  notes  to  the  Ilistolre  de  Maragnan  of  the  P6re  Yves 
d'Evreux  gives  the  form  Ilyorocan  as  known  in  or  near  that 
province.  In  the  Macusi  and  Arekuna  dialects  of  Guiana  Hori 
now  means  devil,  bad  spirit  {Schomhergh,  Reisen  in  Brltisch 
Guiana),  ^n  in  Tupi  is  soul,  Anan  the  name  of  one  of  the 
Arawack  gods.  The  Dictionarium  Galihi,  Paris,  1763,  gives  the 
forms  ii'oucan,  youroucan,  jeroucan  and  hyorocan.  On  the 
whole,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  the  Mayas  adopted  the  name 
from  the  Spaniards. 

2  Oviedo,  Rel.  de  la  Prov.  de  Cueba,  p.  141,  ed.  Ternaux- 
Compans. 

8  Garcia,  Origen  de  los  Indios,  lib.  iv.  cap.  xxii. 


■I 


NO  CONSCIOUS  MONOTIIKISM. 


68 


Many  writers  on  myiliology  liave  commented  on 
tlie  prominence  so  frequently  given  to  the  winds. 
None  have  traced  it  to  its  true  source.  The  facts  of 
meteorology  have  been  thought  all  sufficient  for  a 
solution.  As  if  man  ever  did  or  ever  could  draw  the 
idea  of  God  from  nature !  In  the  identity  of  wind 
with  breath,  of  breath  with  life,  of  life  with  soul,  of 
soul  with  God,  lies  the  far  deeper  and  far  truer  rea- 
son, whose  insensible  development  I  have  here  traced, 
in  outline  indeed,  but  confirmed  by  the  evidence  of 
language  itself. 

Let  none  of  these  expressions,  however,  be  con- 
strued to  jjrove  the  distinct  recognition  of  One  Su- 
preme Being.  Of  monotheism  either  as  displayed  in 
the  one  personal  definite  God  of  the  Semitic  races,  or 
in  the  dim  pantheistic  sense  of  the  Brahmins,  there 
was  not  a  single  instance  on  the  American  continent. 
The  missionari  ^s  found  no  word  in  any  of  their  lan- 
guages fit  to  interpret  Bcus^  God.  How  could  they 
expect  it?  The  associations  we  attach  to  that  name 
are  the  accumulated  fruits  of  nigh  two  thousand 
years  of  Christianity.  The  phrases  Good  Spirit, 
Great  Spirit,  and  similar  ones,  have  occasioned  endless 
discrepancies  in  the  minds  of  travellers.  In  most 
instances  they  are  entirely  of  modern  origin,  coined 
at  the  suggestion  of  missionaries,  applied  to  the  white 
man's  God.  Very  rarely  do  th oy  bring  any  concep- 
tion of  personality  to  the  native  mind,  very  rarely  do 
they  signify  any  object  of  worship,  perhaps  never  did 
in  the  olden  times.  The  Jesuit  Relations  state 
positively  that  there  was  no  one  immaterial  god  rec- 
ognized by  the  Algonkin  tribes,  and  that  the  title, 
the  Great  Manito,  was  introduced  first  by  themselves 


64 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


' 


in  its  personal  sense.  *  The  supremo  Iroquois  Deity 
Nx30  or  llawaneu,  triumphantly  adduced  by  many 
writers  to  show  the  monotheism  underlying  tlie  native 
creeds^  and  upon  whose  name  Mr.  Schoolcraft  has 
built  some  philological  reveries,  turns  out  on  closer 
scrutiny  to  be  the  result  of  Christian  instruction,  and 
the  words  themselves  to  be  but  corruptions  of  the 
French  Dieu  and  le  hon  Dieu  !  ^ 

Innumerable  mysterious  forces  are  in  activity  around 
the  child  of  nature ;  he  feels  within  him  something 
that  tells  him  they  are  not  of  his  kind,  and  yet  not 
.altogether  ditferent  from  him;  he  sums  them  up 
in  one  word  drawn  from  sensuous  experience.  Does 
he  wish  to  express  still  more  forcibly  this  sentiment, 
he  doubles  the  word,  or  prefixes  an  adjective,  or  adds 
an  affix,  as  the  genius  of  his  language  may  dictate. 
But  it  still  remains  to  him  but  an  unapplied  abstrac- 
tion, a  mere  category  of  thought,  a  frame  for  the  All. 
It  is  never  the  object  of  veneration  or  sacrifice,  no 
myth  brings  it  down  to  his  comprehension,  it  is  not 
installed  in  his  temples.  Man  cannot  escape  the 
belief  that  behind  all  form  is  one  esse  "ie;  but  the 
moment  he  would  seize  and  define  it,  it  eludes  his 
grasp,  and  by  a  sorcery  more  sadly  ludicrous  than 
that  which  blinded  Titania,  he  worships  not  the  Infi- 
nite he  thinks,  but  a  base  idol  of  his  own  making. 


^  See  the  Rel.  de  la  Nouv.  France  pour  V A%  1637,  p.  49. 

2  Ml".  Morgan,  in  his  excellent  work.  The  League  of  the  Iro- 
quois, has  been  led  astray  by  an  ignorance  of  the  etymology  of 
these  terms.  For  Schoolcraft's  views  s^e  his  Oneota,  p.  147. 
The  matter  is  ably  discussed  in  the  Etuden  Philolor/iques  sur 
Quelques  Langues  Sauvagesde  VAmdrique,  p.  14 :  Montreal,  18G6  ; 
hilt  comj).  tlhea,,  Diet  Frangais-Onontagud,  l>xei.ace. 


NO  CONSCIOUS  MONOTHEISM. 


66 


Art  in  the  Zend  Avcsta  behind  the  eternal  struggle 
of  Orinuzd  and  Ahriinan  looms  up  the  undisturbed 
and  infinite  Zernana  Akerana,  «as  in  the  pages  of  the 
Greek  poets  we  here  and  there  catch  glimpses  of  a 
Zeus  will)  is  not  he  throned  on  Olympus,  nor  he  who 
takes  part  in  the  wrangles  of  the  gods,  but  stands 
far  off  and  alone,  one  yet  all,  "  who  was,  who  is,  who 
will  be,"  so  the  belief  in  an  Unseen  Spirit,  who  asks 
neither  supplication  nor  sacrifice,  who,  as  the  natives 
of  Texas  told  Joutel  in  1684,  "  does  not  concern  him- 
self about  things  here  below,"  ^  who  has  no  name  to 
call  him  by,  and  is  never  a  figure  in  mythology,  was 
doubtless  occasionally  present  to  their  minds.  Said 
a  sagamore  of  Newfoundland  to  a  missionary :  "  There 
is  one  only  God,  one  Son,  one  Mother  and  the  Sun, 
which  are  four,  but  God  is  above  all."  *  It  was 
present  not  more  but  far  less  distinctly  and  often  not 
at  all  in  the  more  savage  tribes,  and  no  assertion  can 
be  more  contrary  to  the  laws  of  religious  progress 
than  that  which  pretends  that  a  purer  and  more 
monotheistic  religion  exists  among  nations  devoid  of 
mythology.  There  are  only  two  instances  on  the 
American  continent  where  the  worship  of  an  immate- 
rial God  is  asserted  to  have  been  instituted,  and 
these  as  the  highest  conquests  of  American  natural 
religions  deserve  especial  mention. 

They  occurred,  as  we  might  expect,  in  the  two 
most  civilized  nations,  tlie  Quichuas  of  Peru,  and  the 


1  "  Qui  ne  prend  aucun  soin  ties  choses  icy  bas."  Jour. 
Hist,  (run  Voyage  de  VAmtri(/He,  p.  225  :  Paris,  1713. 

*  Bionics,  Stale  of  his  Majestie^s  Territories  in  America,  p. 
241,  Lond.  1687. 


1 


' 


K 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


Nahuas  of  Tezcuco.  It  is  related  that  about  the  year 
1440,  at  a  grand  religious  council  held  at  the  conse- 
cration of  the  newly-built  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco, 
the  Inca  Yupanqui  rose  before  the  assembled  multi- 
tude and  spoke  somewhat  as  follows : — 

"  Many  say  that  the  Sun  is  the  Maker  of  all  things. 
But  he  who  makes  should  abide  by  what  he  has  made. 
Now  many  things  happen  when  the  Sun  is  absent ; 
therefore  he  cannct  be  the  universal  creator.  And 
that  he  is  alive  at  all  is  doubtful,  for  his  tripp  do  not 
tire  him.  Were  he  a  living  thing,  lie  would  grow 
weary  like  ourselves ;  Avere  he  free,  he  would  visit 
other  parts  of  the  heavens.  He  is  like  a  tethered 
beast  who  makes  a  daily  round  under  the  eye  of  a 
master;  he  is  like  an  arrow,  Avhich  must  go  w'lither 
it  is  sent,  not  whitlier  it  wishes.  I  tell  you  that  he, 
our  Father  and  Master  the  Sun,  must  have  a  lord  and 
master  more  powerful  than  himself,  who  constrains 
him  to  his  daily  circuit  without  pause  or  rest. "  ^ 

To  express  this  greatest  of  all  existenc;^,s,  a  name 
was  proclaimed,  based  upon  that  of  the  highest  di- 
vinities known  to  the  ancient  Aymara  clans,  Illatici 
Viracocha  Pachacamac,  literally,  the  thunder  vase, 
the  foam  of  the  sea,  animating  the  world,  mysterious 
and  symbolic  names  drawn  from  the  deepest  religious 
instincts  of  the  soul,  whose  hidden  meanings  will  be 

*  In  attributing  this  speech  to  tlie  Tnca  Yupa.'iqui,  I  have  fol- 
lowed Balboa,  who  expressly  says  this  was  the  general  opinion 
of  the  Indians  (Hist,  du  Perou,  p.  02,  ed.  Ternaux-CoKipans), 
Others  asr.ign  it  to  other  Incas.  See  Garcilasso  de  la  YGga,Ilisl. 
des  Incas,  lib.  v'ii.  chap.  8,  and  Acosta,  Nat.  and  ]\farall  Hist, 
of  the  New  Wwld,  chap.  5.  The  fact  and  the  approximate  time 
are  beyond  question. 


THE  HERESY  OF  THE  INC  A. 


67 


I  ! 


unravelled  hereafter.  A  temple  was  constructed  in  a 
vale  by  the  sea  near  Callao,  wherein  his  worship  was 
to  be  conducted  without  images  or  huDian  sacrifices. 
The  Inca  was  ahead  of  his  age,  however,  and  when 
the  Spaniards  visited  the  temple  of  Pachacamac  in 
1525,  they  found  not  only  the  walls  adorned  with 
liideous  paintings,  but  an  ugly  idol  of  wood  represent- 
ing a  man  of  colossal  proportions  set  up  therein,  and 
receiving  the  prayers  of  the  votaries.  ^ 

No  better  success  attended  the  attempt  of  Neza- 
liuatl,  lord  of  Tezcuco,  said  to  have  taken  place  about 
the  same  time.  He  had  long  prayed  t-  the  gods  of 
Ills  forefathers  for  a  son  to  inherit  his  kingdom,  and  the 
altars  had  smoked  vainly  with  the  blood  of  slaugh- 
tered victims.  At  length,  in  indignation  and  despair, 
the  prince  exclaimed,  "  Verily,  these  gods  that  I  am 
adoring,  what  are  they  but  idols  of  stone  without 
speech  or  feeling  ?  They  could  not  have  made  the 
beauty  oi"  the  heaven,  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars 
which  adorn  it,  and  which  light  the  earth,  with  its 
countless  streams,  its  fountains  and  waters,  its  trees 
and  plants,  and  its  various  inhabitants.  There  must 
be  some  god,  invisible  and  unknown,  who  is  the 
imiversal  creator.  He  alone  can  console  me  in  my 
affliction  and  take  away  my  sorrow."  Strengthened 
in  this  conviction  by  a  timely  fulfilment  of  his  heart's 
desire,  he  erected  a  temple  nine  stoi-ios  high  to  repre- 
sent the  nine  heavens,  which  he  dedicated  "  to  the 
Unknown  God,  the  Cause  of  Causes."  'Jhis  temple, 
he  ordained,  should  never  be  pollutwl  by  blood,  nor 


1  Xeres,  Rel.  de  la  Conq.  du  Pt'rou,  p.  151,  ed.  Tcruaux-Coiu- 
pans. 


.1      m      I 


68 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


should  any  graven  image  ever  be  set  up  Avitliin  its 
precincts.^ 

In  neither  case,  be  it  observed,  Avas  any  attempt 
made  to  substitute  another  and  purer  religion  for  the 
popular  one.  The  Inca  continued  to  receive  the 
homage  of  his  subjects  as  a  brother  of  the  sun,  and  the 
regular  services  to  that  luminary  were  never  inter- 
rupted. Nor  did  the  prince  of  Tezcuco  afterwards 
neglect  the  honors  due  his  national  gods,  nor  even 
refrain  himself  from  plunging  the  knife  into  the 
breasts  of  captives  on  the  altar  of  the  god  of  war.-^ 
They  were  but  expressions  of  that  monotheism  which 
is  ever  present,  "not  in  contrast  to  polytheism,  but  in 
living  intuition  in  the  religious  sentiments."  If  this 
subtle  but  true  distinction  be  rightly  understood,  it 
will  excite  no  surprise  to  find  such  epithets  as  "end- 
less," " omni^jotent,"  "invisible,"  "adorable,"  such 
appellations  as  "the  Maker  and  Moulder  of  All," 
"  the  Mother  and  Father  of  Life,"  "  tlie  One  God 
complete  in  perfection  and  unity,"  "the  Creator  of 
all  that  is,"  "  the  Soul  of  the  World,"  in  use  and  of 
undoubted  indigenous  origin  not  only  among  the 
civilized  Aztecs,  but  even  among  the  Haitians,  the 
Araucanians,  the  Lenni  Lenape,  and  others.^    It  will 

1  Prescott,  Conq.  of  Mexico,  i.  pp.  192,  193,  on  the  authority  of 
Ixtlilxochitl. 

2  Brasseur,  Itlst.  du  Mexique^  iiL  p.  297,  noto. 

8  Of  vory  many  authorities  that  I  have  at  hand,  I  shall  only 
mention  ITeckewelder,  Ace.  of  the  Inds.  p.  422;  Duponceau, 
jlfem.  snr  lex  Langucs  de  I'Amcr.  du  Nnnf,  p.  ;U0;  pptor  jNlMvtyr, 
De  Ilehiis  Oceanicis,  Dec.  i.,  cap.  9;  IMoliiia,  Hist  of  Chili,  ii.  p. 
75;  Xinienes,  Orif/en  de  los  Indios  da  Guateiiiala,  i>\>.  4,5;  Ixtli- 
lxochitl, Rel.  des  Conq.  du  Mexiquc,  p.  2.     These  terms  bear  the 


NAMES  OF  DEITY. 


69 


not  seem  contradictory  to  hear  of  them  in  a  purely 
polytheistic  worship  ;  we  shall  be  far  from  regard- 
ing them  as  familiar  to  the  popular  mind,  and  we 
shall  never  be  led  so  far  astray  as  to  adduce  them  in 
evidence  of  a  monotheism  in  either  technical  sen&e  of 
that  word.  In  point  of  fact  they  were  not  applied  to 
any  particular  god  even  in  the  most  enlightened  na- 
tions, but  were  terms  of  laudation  and  magniloquence 
used  by  the  priests  and  devotees  of  every  several  god 
to  do  him  iionor.  Tli>  prove  something  in  regard 
to  a  consciousness  of  divinity  hedging  us  about,  but 
nothing  at  all  in  favor  of  a  recognition  of  one  God ; 
they  exemplify  how  pi'ofound  is  the  conviction  of  a 
highest  and  first  principle,  but  they  do  not  offer  the 
least  reason  to  surmise  that  this  was  a  living  reality 
in  doctrine  or  practice. 

The  confusion  of  these  distinct  ideas  has  led  to 
much  misconception  of  the  native  creeds.  But  another 
and  more  fatal   error  was  that  which  distorted  them 


1; 


spverest  scrutiny.  The  Aztec  appellation  of  the  Supreme  Being 
Tloque  nahuaque  is  coinpoiinded  of  t!oc,  togetfier,  with,  and«a- 
hnac,  at,  by,  with,  with  possessive  fcu-ms  added,  giving  the  sig- 
nification. Lord  of  ail  existence  and  i  vistence  (alles  Mitseyns 
und  alles  Beiseyns,  bei  welchem  das  Seyu  allcr  Dinge  ist.  Busch- 
wvAxnXiUeher  die  Aztekischen  Orlsnameii,  p.  G12).  In  the  Quiche 
legends  the  Supreme  Being  is  called  7i;7r?/,  the  substantive  form 
of  6/7,  to  make  pottery,  to  form,  and  Tzokol,  substantive  form  of 
tzak,  to  build,  the  Creator,  the  Constructor.  The  Arowacks  of 
Guyana  applied  the  term  Aluheri  to  their  highest  concejition  of 
a  first  cause,  from  the  verbal  form  alin,  he  who  makes  (Martins, 
EthnofjrapJiie  und  Sprachcnkunde  AinerU.a'i^,  i.  p.  G9G).  So  soma 
of  tlie  Minnetare(\s  interjtret  the  nanip  of  their  deity  Itxikamidd- 
dis  as  "  h(!  who  first  made  "  (]\Iattljew»,  Grammar  of  the  Hidaisa^ 
p.  xxi.  New  York,  1S73). 


60 


THE  IDEA    OF  GOD. 


\   ' 


into  a  dualistic  form,  ranging  on  one  hand  the  good 
spirit  with  his  legions  of  angels,  on  the  other  the 
evil  one  with  his  swarms  of  fiends,  representing  the 
world  as  the  scene  of  their  unending  conflict,  man 
as  tne  unlucky  football  who  gets  all  the  blows. 
This  notion,  which  has  its  historical  origin  among 
the  Parsees  of  ancient  Iran,  is  unknown  to  savage 
nations.  "  The  Hidatsa,"  says  Dr.  Matthews,  "  be- 
lieve neither  in  a  hell  nor  in  a  devil."  ^  "The  idea 
of  the  Devil,"  justly  observes  Jacob  Grimm,  "  is  for- 
eign to  all  primitive  religions."  Yet  Professor 
Mueller,  in  his  voluminous  work  on  those  of  Amer- 
ica, after  approvingly  quoting  this  saying,  compla- 
cently proceeds  to  classify  the  deities  as  good  or  bad 
si:)irits !  ^ 

This  view,  which  has  obtained  without  question  in 
every  work  on  the  native  religions  of  America,  has 
arisen  partly  from  habits  of  thought  difficult  to  break, 
partly  from  mistranslations  of  native  words,  partly 
from  the  foolish  axiom  of  the  early  missionaries,  "  The 
gods  of  the  gentiles  are  devils."  Yet  their  own  writ- 
ings furnish  conclusive  proof  that  no  such  distinction 
existed  out  of  their  own  fancies.  The  same  word 
(otkori)  which  Father  Bruyas  em2:)loys  to  translate 
into  Iroquois  the  term  "  devil,"  in  the  passage  "  the 
Devil  took  upon  himself  the  figure  of  a  serpent,"  he 
is  obliged  to  use  for  "  spirit  "  in  the  phrase,  "  at  the 
resurrection  we  shall  be  spirits,"  ^  which  is  a  ratlier 
amusing  illustration  how  impossible  it  was  by  any 
native  word  to  convey  the  idea  of  the  spirit  of  evil. 


1  Grammar  of  the  Hulatsn,  j),  xxii. 

-  GfSi^hichti  der  Amerlkanhchen  Urrelif/lnncn,  p.  403. 

8  liruyas,  Rad.  Verb.  fro(ftienrum,^.'^8. 


!i 


THE  IDEA  OF  THE  DEVIL. 


61 


he  good 
ther  the 
ting  the 
ct,  man 

blows. 

among 

savage 
vs>^  "be- 
he  idea 
"  is  for- 
rofessor 
?  Amer- 
compla- 

or  bad 

5tion  in 
ica,  has 
►  break, 

partly 
,  "  The 
n  writ- 

nction 
3  word 
-nslate 
"  the 

t,"  he 
at  the 

atlier 

y  ^^^Y 

evil. 


When  in  1570,  Father  Rogel  commenced  his  labors 
among  the  tribes  near  the  Savannah  River,  he  told 
them  that  the  deity  they  adored  was  a  demon  wlio 
loved  all  evil  things,  and  they  must  hate  him  ;  where- 
upon his  auditors  replied,  that  so  far  from  this  being 
the  case,  whom  he  called  a  wicked  being  was  the 
power  that  sent  them  all  good  things,  and  indignantly 
left  the  missionary  to  preach  to  the  winds.^ 

A  passage  often  quoted  in  support  of  this  mistaken 
view  is  one  in  Winslow's  "  Good  News  from  New  Eng- 
land," written  in  1622.  The  author  says  that  the 
Indians  worship  a  good  power  called  Kiehtan,  and 
another  "  who,  as  farre  as  wee  can  conceive,  is  the 
Devill,"  named,  Ilobbamock,  or  Hobbamoqui.  The 
former  of  these  names  is  merely  the  word  "  great,'* 
in  their  dialect  of  Algonkin,  with  a  final  w,  and  is 
probably  an  abbreviation  of  Kittanitowit,  the  great 
manito,  a  vague  term  menti(*ned  by  Roger  Williams 
and  other  early  Avriters,  inti-oduced,  Mr.  Trumbull 
thinks,  to  express  a  conc(  ;tion  received  from  the 
missionaries.  The  latter,  .  .  far  from  corresponding 
to  the  power  of  evil,  was,  according  to  Winslow's 
own  statement,  the  kindly  god  who  cured  diseases, 
aided  them  in  the  chase,  and  appeared  to  them  in 
dreams  as  their  protector.  Therefore,  with  great 
justice,  Dr.  Jarvis  has  explained  it  to  mean  "the  oke 
or  tutelary  deity  which  each  Indian  worships,"  as 
the  word  itself  signifies.^ 

1  Alcazar,  Clirono-hisUmade  la  Prov.de  Toledo,  Dec.  iii.,  Aiio 
viii.,  cap.  iv. :  ^Madrid,  1710.  This  rare  work  contains  the  only 
faithful  copies  of  Father  Rogel's  letters  extant.  Mr.  Shea,  in 
his  History  of  Catholic  Missions,  erroneously  calls  him  Roger. 

*  Discourse  on  the  IleHf/ioiiofthe  Ind.  Tribes  of  N.Am.,  p.  252 
in  the  Trans.  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc. 


in 


62  THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 

So  in  many  instances  it  tnrns  out  that  what  has 
been  rtported  to  be  the  evil  divinity  of  a  nation,  to 
whom  they  pray  to  tlie  neglect  of  a  better  one,  is  in 
reality  the  highest   power    they  recognize.      Thus 
Juripari,  Avorshipped  by  certain  tribes  of  the  Tupi- 
Guaranay  stock,  and  said  to  be  their  wicked  spirit,  is 
in  fact  the  name  in  their  language  for  spiritual  ex- 
istence in  general ;  *  and  Aka-kanet,  sometimes  men- 
tioned as  the  father  of  evil  in  the  mythology  of  the 
Araucanians,  is  the  benign  power  appealed  to  by  theii 
priests,  who  is  throned  in  the  Pleiades,  who   sends 
fruits  and  flowers  to  the  earth,  and  is  addressed  as 
*'  grandfather."  ^     The  Cupay  of  the  Peruvians  never 
was,  as  Prescott  would  have  us  believe,  "  the  shadowy 
embodiment  of  evil,"  but  simply  and  solely  their  god 
of  the  dead,  the  Pluto  of  their  pantheon,  correspond- 
ing to  the  Mictla  of  the  Mexicans. 

The  evidence  on  the  point  is  indeed  conclusive. 
The  Jesuit  missionaries  very  rarely  distinguish  be- 
tween good  and  evil  deities  when  speaking  of  the 


■ 


1  "  Giropari  somble  apartenir  plus  specialement  an  nord  du 
Bresil,"  says  Denis  in  his  notes  to  Father  d'Evreux's //?s^»Vfi  </e 
Afarlgnan,  p.  405.  He  sent  both  pleasant  and  unpleasant  events  ; 
on  the  Pampas  it  seems  to  have  been  a  common,  not  a  proper 
name.  The  derivation  given  is  y^r^y^mr  ;)rtr<,  the  lame  pi-oud 
one  (Martius,  Die  IndiunL^chcn  Volkerschoflen  in  Brasilien,  p. 
408). 

2  Mueller,  Amer.  Urrdigiotien,  pp.  265,  272,  274.  Well  may 
he  remark  :  "  The  dualism  is  not  very  striking  among  these 
tribes ;  "  as  a  few  pages  previous  he  says  of  the  Caribs,  "  The 
dualism  of  gods  is  anything  but  rigidly  observed.  The  good 
gods  do  more  evil  than  good.  Fear  is  tlie  ruling  religious  senti- 
ment." To  such  a  lame  conclusion  do  these  venerable  pre- 
possessions load.     Grau  ist  allc  Theorie, 


NO  DUALISM  IN  DEITIES. 


C3 


religion  of  the  northern  tribes;  and  the  Moravian 
Brethren  among  the  Algonkins  and  Iroquois  place  on 
record  their  unanimous  testimony  that  "  the  idea  of 
a  devil,  a  prince  of  darkness,  they  first  received  in 
later  times  through  the  Europeans."  ^  So  the  Chero- 
kees,  remarks  an  intelligent  observer,  "  know  nothing 
of  the  Evil  One  and  his  domains,  except  what  they 
have  learned  from  white  men."  ^  The  term  Great 
Spirit  conveys,  for  instance,  to  the  Chipeway  just  as 
much  the  idea  of  a  bad  ai  of  a  good  spirit ;  he  is 
unaware  of  any  distinction  until  it  is  explained  to 
him.  ^  "I  have  never  been  able  to  discover  from  the 
Dakotas  themselvcvS,"  remarks  the  Rev.  G.  H.  Pond, 
who  had  lived  among  them  as  a  missionary  for  eigh- 
teen years,  *  "  the  least  degree  of  evidence  that  they 
divide  the  gods  into  classes  of  good  and  evil,  and  am 
persuaded  that  those  persons  who  represent  them  as 
doing  so,  do  it  inconsiderately,  and  because  it  i  .  so 
natural  to  subscribe  to  a  long  cherished  pop  alar 
opinion." 

Very  soon  after  coming  in  contact  with  th,e  whites, 
the  Indians  caught  the  notion  of  a  bad  and  good 
spirit,  pitted  one  against  the  other  in  eternal  warfare, 
and  engrafted  it  on  their  ancient  traditions.  Writers 
anxious  to  discover  Jewish  or  Christian  analogies, 
forcibly  construed  myths  to  suit  their  pet  theories, 
and  for  indolent  observers  it  was  convenient  to  cata- 


^  Lo!ik\e\,  Ges.  der  Misa.  der  evanrj.  Brueder,   p.  4G. 
2  Whipplo,  Report  on  the  Ind.    Tribes,  p.  35 :     "Washington, 
1855.     Pacific  Railroad  Docs. 
8  Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribes,  i,  p.  359. 
4  In  Schoolcraft,  Ibid.,  iv.  p.  642. 


I! 


C4 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


logiie  their  gods  in  antithetical  classes.  In  Mexican 
and  Peruvian  mythology  this  is  so  plainly  false  that 
historians  no  longer  insist  upon  it,  but  as  a  popular 
error  it  still  holds  its  ground  with  reference  to  the 
moj  e  barbarous  and  less  known  tribes. 

Perhaps  no  myth  has  been  so  often  quoted  in  its 
confirmation  as  that  of  the  ancient  Iroquois,  which 
narrates  the  conflict  between  the  first  two  brothers 
of  our  race.  It  is  of  undoubted  native  origin,  and 
venerable  antiquity.  Tlie  version  given  by  the  Tus- 
carora  chief  Cusic,  in  1825,  relates  that  in  the  begin- 
ning of  things  there  Avere  two  brothers,  Enigorio  and 
Enigohahetgea,  names  literally  meaning  the  Good 
Mind  and  the  Bad  Mind.  ^  The  former  went  about 
the  world  furnisliing  it  with  gentle  streams,  fertile 
plains,  and  plenteous  fruits,  Avhile  the  latter  ma- 
liciously followed  him  creating  rapids,  thorns,  and 
deserts.  At  length  the  Good  Mind  turned  upon  his 
brother  in  anger,  and  crushed  him  into  the  earth. 
He  sank  out  of  sight  in  its  depths,  but  not  to  perish, 
for  in  the  dark  realms  of  the  underworld  he  still 
lives,  receiving  the  souls  of  the  dead  and  being 
the  author  of  all  evil.  Now  when  we  compare  this 
with  the  version  of  the  same  legend  given  by  Father 
Brebeuf,  missionary  to  the  Hurons  in  1636,  we  find 
Its  whole  complexion  altered;  the  moral  dualism 
\'anishes ;  the  names  Good  Mind  and  Bad  Mind  do  not 
appear ;  it  is  the  struggle  of  loskeha,  the  White  one, 

^  Or  more  exactly,  the  Beautiful  Spirit,  the  Ugly  Spirit.  In 
Onondaga  the  radicals  are  onigonra^  spirit,  Itio  beautiful,  aAe^ten 
u<xly.  Dictionnaire  Fran^ais-OnontaguJ,  e'dite  par  Jean-Marie 
Shea:    New  York,  1859. 


MISUNDERSTOOD  MYTHS. 


66 


with  his  brother  Tawiscara,  the  Dark  one,  and  we  at 
once  perceive  that  Christian  influence  in  the  course  of 
two  centuries  had  given  the  tale  a  meaning  foreign  to 
its  orisjfinal  intent. 

So  it  is  with  the  story  the  Algonkins  tell  of  their 
hero  Manibozho,  who,  in  the  opinion  of  a  well-known 
writer,  "is  always  placed  in  antagonism  to  a  great 
serpent,  a  spirit  of  evil."  ^  It  is  to  the  effect  that  after 
conquering  many  animals,  this  famous  magician  tried 
his  arts  on  the  prince  of  serpents.  After  a  prolonged 
struggle,  which  brought  on  the  general  deluge  and 
the  destruction  of  the  world,  he  won  the  victory. 
The  first  authority  we  have  for  this  narrative  is  even 
later  than  Cusic;  it  is  Mr.  Schoolcraft  in  our  own 
day ;  the  legendtay  cause  of  the  deluge  as  related 
by  Father  Le  Jeune,  in  1(334,  is  quite  dissimilar,  and 
makes  no  mention  of  a  Fei'pent ;  and  as  we  shall  here- 
after see,  neither  among  the  Algonkins  nor  any  other 
Indians,  was  the  serpent  usually  a  type  of  evil,  but 
quite  the  reverse.- 

The  comparatively  late  introduction  of  such  views 
into  the  native  legends  finds  a  remarkable  proof  in 
the  myths  of  the  Quiches,  which  were  committed  to 
writing  in  the  seventeenth  century.  They  narrate 
the  struggles  between  the  rulers  of  the  upper  and  the 
nether  world,  the  descent  of  the  former  into  Xibalba, 
the  Realm  of  Phantoms,  and  their  victory  over  its 
lords.  One  Death  and  Seven  Deaths.     The  writer  adds 


1  Squier,  The  Serpent  Symbol  in  America. 

2  Both  these  legends  will  be  analyzed  in  a  subsequent  chapter, 
and  an  attempt  made  not  only  to  restore  them  their  primitive 
form,  but  to  explain  their  meaning. 

6 


# 


66 


THE  IDEA  OF  GOD. 


I 


n 


m  > 


of  tlio  latter,  who  clearly  represent  to  liis  mind  ihe 
Evil  One  and  his  adjutants,  "  in  the  old  times  they 
did  not  have  much  power ;  they  were  but  unnoyers 
and  opposers  of  men,  and  in  truth  they  were  not  re- 
garded as  gods.  But  when  they  ai)peared  it  was  ter- 
rible. They  were  of  evil,  they  were  owls,  fomenting 
trouble  and  discord."  In  this  passage,  which,  be  it 
said,  seems  to  have  impressed  the  translators  very 
differently,  the  writer  appears  to  compare  the  great 
power  assigned  by  the  Christian  religion  to  Satan  and 
his  allies,  with  the  very  much  less  potency  attributed 
to  their  analogues  in  heathendom,  the  rulers  of  the 
world  of  the  dead.^ 

A  little  reflection  will  convince  the  most  incredu- 
lous that  any  such  dualism  as  has  1  n  fancied  to 
exist  in  the  native  religions,  could  noi  have  been  of 
indigenous  growth.  The  gods  of  the  primitive  man 
are  beings  of  thoroughly  human  physiognomy, 
painted  with  colors  furnished  by  intercourse  with  his 
fellows.  Those  are  his  enemies  or  his  friends,  as  he 
conciliates  or  insults  them.  No  mere  man,  least  of 
all  a  savage,  is  kind  and  benevolent  in  spite  of  neg- 
lect and  injury,  nor  is  any  man  causelessly  and  cease- 
lessly malicious.  Personal,  family,  or  national  feuds 
render  some  more  inimical  than  others,  but  always 
from  a  desire  to  guard  their  own  interests,  never  out 
of  a  delight  in  evil  for  its  own  sake.  Thus  the 
cruel  gods  of  death,  disease,  and  danger,  were  never 
of  Satanic  nature,  while  the  kindliest  divinities  were 

1  Compare  the  translation  and  remarks  of  Ximenes,  Or,  fie 
ln<^  liulloa  (Ic  Clnat.,  \\.  70,  with  those  of  Brasseur,  Le  Livre 
Sacrd  lies  Quiche'.-^,  p.  189. 


A  MORAL  DUALISM  IMPOSSIBLE. 


disposed  to  punish,  and  thai  severely,  any  ne«jlect  of 
their  ceremonies. 

I  must  not  be  understood  to  mean  that  tliero  was 
no  diehotomie  chussifieatioii  of  deities.  Tin's  there 
was,  and  very  generally.  !St>me  gods  favored  man, 
and  others  hurt  him  ;  some  were  his  friends,  others 
his  foes.  But  what  I  would  warn  against  is  the 
common  error  of  confounding  ihis  with  a  moral  du- 
alism. This  can  only  arise  in  minds  where  the  ideas 
of  good  and  evil  are  not  synonymous  with  those  of 
pleasure  and  pain,  for  the  conception  of  a  wholly 
good  or  a  wholly  evil  nature  re(]^uires  the  use  of  these 
terms  in  their  higher,  ethical  sense.  The  various 
deities  of  the  Indians,  it  may  safely  be  said  in  con- 
clusion, present  no  stronger  antithesis  in  this  respect 
than  those  of  ancient  Greece  and  Home. 


i 


II 


1 1 
i  i 


•  •( 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  SACRED  NUMBER,  ITS  ORIGIN  AND  APPLICATIONS. 

The  niimbor  Fox  n  Hncrcd  in  all  Amorican  roUcjlona,  and  tho  key  to  t'lcir 
Kynil»()Iisni.—  DiTivcd  from  tho  (Jaudinal  Points. — Appoairt  constantly 
in  ;jovf>rninont,  arts,  ri^'lits,  and  myths.— Tho  Cardinal  Points  identified 
witli  tlio  Four  Winds,  who  in  myths  are  the  four  ancestors  of  tlio 
liiunan  race,  and  the  four  celestial  rivers  waterinj;  the  terrestrial  Para- 
dise.—Associations  grouped  around  each  Cardinal  Point. — From  the 
number  four  was  derived  tho  symbolic  value  of  tho  number  Forty,  aud 
tho  Si'jn  f]f  the  CruKs. 

171VERY  one  familiar  with  the  ancient  religions  of 
J  the  world  must  have  noticed  the  mystic  power 
they  attached  to  certain  numbers,  and  how  these 
numbers  became  the  measures  and  formative  quanti- 
ties, as  it  were,  of  traditions  and  ceremonies,  and  had 
a  symbolical  meaning  nowise  connected  with  tlieir 
arithmetical  value.  For  instance,  in  many  eastern 
religions,  that  of  the  Jews  among  the  rest,  seven  was 
the  most  sacred  number,  and  after  it,  four  and  three. 
The  most  cursory  reader  must  have  observed  in  how 
many  connections  the  seven  is  used  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  occurring,  in  all,  something  over  three 
hundi-ed  and  sixty  times,  it  is  said.  Why  these  num- 
bers were  chosen  rather  than  others  has  not  been 
clearly  explained.  Their  sacred  character  dates  be- 
yond the  earliest  history,  and  must  have  been  coeval 
with  the  first  expressions  of  the  religious  sentiment. 
Onlv  one  of  them,  the  four,  has  any  prominence 
in  the  religions  of  the  red  race,  but  this  is  so  marked 


THE  CAIilJlNAL  POINTS. 


C'J 


and  80  universal,  that  at  a  very  early  period  in  my 
8tudi(;s  I  felt  convineed  tliat  if  the  reason  for  ita 
adoption  could  bo  discovered,  much  of  the  apparent 
confusion  which  reij^ns  among  them  Avould  be  dis- 
pelled. 

Such  a  reason  must  take  its  rise  from  some  essential 
relation  of  man  to  nature,  everywhere  prominent, 
everywhere  the  same.  It  is  found  in  the  adoration 
of  the  cardinal  points. 

The  red  num,  as  I  have  said,  Avasa  hunter;  ho  was 
ever  wandering  through  pathless  forests,  coursing 
over  boundless  prairies.  It  seems  to  the  white  race 
not  a  faculty,  but  an  instinct  that  guides  him  so  un- 
erringly, lie  is  never  at  a  loss.  Says  a  writer  Avho 
has  deeply  studied  his  character :  "  The  Indian  ever 
has  the  points  of  the  compass  present  to  his  mind, 
and  expresses  himself  accordingly  in  words,  although 
it  shall  be  of  matters  in  his  own  house."  ^ 

The  assumption  of  precisely  four  cardinal  points  is 
not  of  chance  ;  it  is  recognized  in  every  language ;  it 
is  rendered  essential  by  the  anatomical  structure  of 
the  body ;  it  is  derived  from  the  immutable  laws  of 
the  universe.  Whether  we  gaze  at  the  sunset  or  the 
sunrise,  or  whether  at  night  we  look  for  guidance  to 
the  only  star  of  the  twinkling  thousands  that  is  con- 
stant to  its  place,  the  anterior  and  posterior  planes  of 
our  bodies,  our  right  hands  and  our  left  coincide  with 
the  parallels  and  meridians.  Very  early  in  his  his- 
tory did  man  take  note  of  these  four  points,  and 
recognizing  in  them  his  guides  through  the  night 
and  the  wilderness,  call  them  his  gods.     Long  after- 

^  Buckingham  Smith,  Gra7n.  Notices  of  the  Ilcve  Lanr/iiage,  p. 
2(3  (Shea's  Lib.  Am.  Linguistics). 


70 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


wards,  when  centuries  of  slow  progress  had  taught 
him  other  secrets  of  nature — when  he  had  discerned 
in  the  motions  of  the  sun,  the  elements  of  matter,  and 
the  radicals  of  arithmetic  a  repetition  of  this  number 
— they  were  to  him  further  Avarrants  of  its  sacred- 
ness.  He  adopted  it  as  a  regulating  quantity  in  his 
institutions  and  his  arts ;  he  repeated  it  in  its  multi- 
ples and  compounds  ;  he  imagined  for  it  novel  appli- 
cations; he  constantly  magnified  its  mystic  meaning  ; 
and  finally,  in  his  philosophical  reveries,  he  called  it 
the  key  to  the  secrets  of  the  universe,  "the  source  of 
everflowir.<JC  nature."  ^ 

In  primitive  geography  the  figure  of  the  earth  is  a 
square  plain;  in  the  legend  of  the  Quiches  it  is 
"  shaped  as  a  square,  divided  into  four  parts,  marked 
with  lines,  measured  with  cords,  and  suspended  from 
the  heavens  by  a  cord  to  its  four  corners  and  its  four 
sides."  '^  The  earliest  divisions  of  territory  were  in 
conformity  to  this  view.  Thus  it  was  with  ancient 
Egypt,  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  India  and  China  ;^  and 


1  I  refer  to  the  four  "  ultimate  elementary  particles  "  of  Enx- 
pedocles.  The  number  was  sacred  to  Ileriues,  and  lay  at  the  root 
of  the  physical  philosophy  of  Pythacjoras.  The  quotation  in  tlie 
text  is  from  the  "  Golden  Verses,"  given  in  Passow's  lexicon 
under  the  word  TeTjtaKrvQ  :  mi  //a  rnv  auETepa  i/'''.r«  Trajmihvra  re- 
rpuKTiw  TTtiyav  aevaov  f/dnrtwc.  "  TIio  most  sacred  of  all  things,"  said 
this  famous  teacher,  "  is  Number  ;  and  next  to  it,  that  wliich 
gives  Names  ;  "  a  truth  that  the  lapse  of  three  thousand  years 
is  just  enabling  us  to  appreciate. 

2  Ximenes,  Or.  de  los  Indins,  etc.,  p.  5. 

8  See  Sqi^]),  Ileidenthum  nnd  de.'^sen  Bedciitung  fiir  dan  Chris- 
tenthum,  i.  p.  401  sqq.,  a  work  full  of  learning,  but  written  in 
the  wildest  vein  of  Joseph  de  Maistre's  school  of  llomauizing 
mythology. 


IN  ARCHITECTURE  AND  GOVERNMENT. 


71 


in  the  new  world,  the  states  of  Peru,  Araucania,  the 
Muyseas,  the  Quiclies,  and  Tlascala  were  tetrarchies 
divided  in  accordance  with,  and  in  tlie  first  two  in- 
stances named  after,  the  cardinal  points.  .  So  their 
chief  cities — Cuzco,  Quito,  Tezcuco,  Mexico,  Cholu- 
ha — were  quartered  by  streets  running  north,  south, 
east,  and  west.  It  was  a  necessary  result  of  such  a 
division  that  the  chief  officers  of  the  government 
were  four  in  number,  that  the  inhabitants  of  town 
and  country,  that  the  whole  social  organization  ac- 
quh-ed  a  quadruplicate  form.  The  official  title  of  the 
Inca;5  was  "Lord  of  tlie  four  quarters  of  the  earth," 
and  the  venerable  formality  in  taking  possession  of 
land,  both  in  their  domain  and  that  of  the  Aztecs, 
was  to  throw  a  stone,  to  shoot  an  arrow,  or  to  lunl  a 
firebrand  to  each  of  the  cardinal  points.^  Ihey  car- 
ried out  the  idea  in  th<3ir  architecture,  building  their 
palaces  in  squares  with  doors  opening,  their  tombs 
Avitli  their  angles  pointing,  their  great  causcANays 
running  in  these  directions,  'i'hese  architectural 
principles  repeat  themselves  all  over  the  continent ; 
they  recur  in  the  sacred  structures  of  Yucatan,  in  the 
ancient  cemetery  of  Teo-tihuacan,  near  ]\rexico,  \^'here 
the  tombs  are  arranged  along  avenues  corresponding 
exactly  to  the  parallels  and  meridians  of  the  central 
tumuli  of  the  sun  and  moon  ;'  and  however  ignorant 


I 

S5. 


i   I 


M 


^  Rrasspur,  ITist.  dn  Mcxlqnc,  W.  p.  227,  Li^  TJn-e  Sarrc  des 
Quiches,  iiitrod.  p.  ccxlii.  The  four  ]  roviuci^s  of  Poru  wore 
Aiiti.  Cifiiti.  Cliiiicha,iiii(l  Colla.  Thcniciiuinq'of  tliosouiniicsluis 
been  lost,  but  to  rcjioat  Ihcni,  says  La  Vctra,  Avas  Ibc^  saiuo.as  to 
uso  our  words,  cast,  west,  north,  uiid  south  (^Uist.  des  Incati,  lib. 
ii.  c:i;>.n). 

2  Humboldt,  Pollt.  J-Jssaij  on  Neir  S/miii,  ji.  [t,  11. 


Hi 


K^  .     THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 

we  are  about  the  mound  builders  of  the  Mississippi 
valley,  we  know  that  they  construeted  their  earth- 
works with  a  constant  regard  to  the  c[uarters  of  the 
compass.  •     >  - 

Nothing  can  be  more  natural  than  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  rci^ions  of  the  heavens  in  the  construc- 
tion  of  buildings ;  i  presume  that  at  any  time  no  one 
jilans  an  edifice  of  pretensions  withoiit  doing  so.  Yet 
this  is  one  of  those  apparently  trifling  transactions 
which  in  tlieir  origin  and  applications  have  exerted  a 
controlling  influence  on  the  history  of  the  Human 
race. 

When  we  reflect  how  indissolubly  the  mind  of  the 
primitive  man  is  Avelded  to  liis  superstitions,  it  were 
incredible  that  his  social  life  and  his  architecture 
could  thus  be  as  it  were  in  sul)jection  to  one  idea, 
and  his  rites  and  myths  escape  its  sway.  As  one 
might  expect,  it  reappears  in  these  bitter  more 
vividly  than  anywhere  else.  If  there  is  le  formula 
more  frequently  mentioned  by  travellers  than  another 
as  an  indispensable  preliminary  to  all  serious  busi- 
ness, it  is  that  of  smoking,  and  the  prescribed  and 
traditional  rule  was  that  the  first  puff  should  be  to 
the  sky,  and  then  one  to  each  of  the  corners  of  the 
earth,  or  the  cardinal  points.^  These  were  the  spirits 
who  made  and  governed  the  earth,  and  under  what- 
ever difference  of  guise  the  uncultivated  fancy  por- 
trayed them,  they  v/ere  the  leading  figures  in  the 

1  This  custom  has  hoeu  fifton  mentioned  among  the  Iroquois, 
Algoukins,  Dakotas,  rvt.'cks,  Natclioz,  Araucauians,  and  otlier 
tribes.  Xuttall  points  out  its  recurrence  among  the  Tartars  of 
Siberia  also.  (2Vare/s,  p.  175.) 


IN  MYTH  AND  RITE. 


73 


i  ! 


tales  and  ceremonies  of  nearly  every  tribe  of  the  reel 
race.  These  were  the  divine  powers  summoned  by 
the  Chipeway  magicians  when  initiating  neophytes 
into  the  mysteries  of  the  meda  craft.  They  were 
asked  to  a  lodge  of  four  poles,  to  four  stones  that  lay 
before  its  fire,  there  to  remain  four  days,  and  attend 
four  feasts.  At  every  step  of  the  proceeding  this 
number  or  its  multiples  wore  repeated.^  With  their 
neighbors  the  Dakotas  the  number  was  also  distinctly 
sacred;  it  was  intimately  inwoven  in  all  their  tales 
concerning  the  wakan  power  and  the  spirits  of  the 
air,  and  their  religious  rites.  The  artist  Catlin  has 
given  a  vivid  description  of  the  great  annual  festival 
of  the  jNIandans,  a  Dakota  tribe,  and  brinirs  forward 
with  emphasis  the  ceaseless  reiteration  of  th'o  number 
from  first  to  last.'^  He  did  not  detect  its  origin  in  the 
veneration  of  the  cardinal  points,  but  the  informa- 
tion that  has  since  been  furnished  of  the  myths  of 
this  stock  leave.;  no  doubt  that  such  was  the  case;'' 

Proximity  of  place  had  no  part  in  this  similarity 
of  rite.  In  the  jrand  commemorative  festival  of  the 
Creeks  called  the  Busk,  which  wiped  out  the  memory 
of  all  crimes  but  murder,  which  reconciled  the  pro- 
scribed criminal  to  his  natiou  and  atoned  for  his  guilt, 
Avlien  the  new  fire  was  kindled  and  the  green  corn 


,* 


■'  t 


^  Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribc.'^,  x.  pp.  421otsoq. 

^  Letters  on  the  N'orth  ^■.mericnn  Indians,  vol.   i..  Letter  22. 

8  Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribes,  iv.  p.  G  1^3  sq.  *'  Four  is  their 
sacred  number,"  says  INIr.  Pond  (p.  GtO).  Their  i-iei-^libors, 
the  Pawnees,  tliouqh  not  the  most  renioto  airiiiity  can  ho 
detected  bi'tween  Iheir  hiii^'uauccs.  coinciil',!  with  tlicni  in  this 
sacred  number,  and  distinctly  i'lenlified  it  ■wllh  the  cardinal 
points.     See  De  Sniot,  Origon  Missions,  pp.  3G0,  oGl. 


74 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


served  up,  every  dance,  every  invocation,  every  cere- 
mony, was  siiaped  and  rnled  by  the  application  of  tlic 
number  four  and  its  multiples  in  every  imaginable 
relation.  So  it  was  at  that  solemn  probation  which 
the  youth  must  undergo  to  prove  himself  worthy  of 
the  dignities  of  manhood  and  to  ascertain  his  guardian 
sjjirit ;  here  again  his  fasts,  his  seclusions,  his  trials, 
were  all  laid  down  in  foui-fold  arrangement.^ 

Not  alone  among  these  barbarous  tribes  were  the 
cardinal  points  thus  the  foundation  of  the  most 
solemn  mysteries  of  religion.  An  excellent  authority 
relates  that  the  Aztecs  of  Micla,  in  Guatemala,  cele- 
brated their  chief  festival  four  times  a  vcar,  and  that 
four  priests  solemnized  its  rites.  They  commenced 
by  invoking  and  offering  incense  to  tiie  sky  and  the 
four  cardinal  points  ;  they  conducted  the  human 
victim  four  times  around  the  temple,  then  tore  out 
his  heart,  and  catching  the  blood  in  four  vases  scat, 
ter  hI  it  in  the  same  directions."  So  also  the  Peru- 
vians had  four  principal  festivals  annually,  and  at 
everv  new  moon  one  of  four  davs'  duration.  In  fact 
the  repetition  of  the  number  in  all  their  religious 
ceremonies  is  so  prominent  that  it  has  been  a  subject 
of  connnent  by  historians.  They  have  attributed  it  to 
the  knowledge   of  the  solstices  and  et^uinoxes,  uut 

^  Ije:!J.  Hawkins,  Sketch  nf  the  Creek  Cnuntry,  pp.  75,  78: 
SavaniKih,  1818.  The  description  he  gives  of  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Creeks  Mas  transcribed  word  for  word  and  published  in  the 
first  vohinie  of  tlie  American  Antiquarian  Society's  Transactions 
as  of  th(>  Shawnees  of  Oliio.  This  literary  theft  has  not  before 
been  noticed, 

-  Palacio.---,  Dex.  dc  la  Prov.  dc  Guatemala^  pp.  31,  32,  od. 
TernaiiN  Compans. 


,'■4 

i 


IN^  CEREMONIES  AND  CALENDARS. 


75 


assuredly  it  is  of  more  ancient  date  than  this.  The 
same  explanation  has  been  offered  for  its  recurrence 
among  the  Nahvuis  of  Mexico,  whose  wholj  lives 
were  subjected  to  its  operation.  At  birth  the  mother 
was  held  unclean  for  four  days,  a  fire  was  kindled  * 
and  kept  burning  for  a  like  length  of  time,  at  the 
baptism  of  the  child  an  arrow  was  shot  to  each  of  the 
cardinal  points.  Their  prayers  were  offered  four  times 
a  day,  the  greatest  festivals  were  every  fourth  year, 
and  their  offerings  of  blood  were  to  the  four  points 
of  the  compass.  At  death  food  was  placed  on  the 
grave,  as  among  the  Eskimos,  Cr(jeks,  Dakotas  and 
Algonkins,  for  four  days  (for  all  these  nations  and 
many  others  sujiposed  that  th.3  journey  to  the  land 
of  souls  was  accomplished  in  that  time),  and  mourn- 
ing for  the  dead  was  for  foui'  months  or  four  years.^ 
It  were  fatisjfuina:  iiiid  unnecessary  to  extend  the 
catalogue  much  further.  Yet  it  isnot  nearly  exhaust- 
ed. From  tribes  of  both  continents  and  all  stages  of 
culture,  the  Muyscas  of  Columbia  and  the  Natchez  of 
Louisiana,  the  Quiches  of  Guatemala  and  the  Caribs 
of  the  Orinoko,  instance  after  instance  might  be  mar- 
shalled to  illustrate  how  universally  a  sacred  charac- 
ter Avas  attached  to  this  number,  and  liow  uniformly 
it  is  traceable  to  a  veneration  of  the  cardinal  points 


I 


1  All  familiar  with  Moxican  antiquity  will  rpoall  many  such 
examples.  I  may  particularly  rofor  to  Kiiio-sLnron'^'l-,.  Anti'/f^. 
of  Mexico,  V.  p.  4S0,  Tornanx-Compans'  l!ern>vl  (h  pu\rs  rel. 
a  1(1  Conq.  du  Mexiqnc,  pp.  307.  310.  and  Gnnia,  Des.  dc  las  dn.t 
I^K'drns  qur.  se  Jiallanin  on  la  plaza  /irliiri/nd  dc  Mexiri),  ii.  sec. 
12')  (^fcxico,  1S3"2^,  who  c^ivos  numerous  in.stancos  beyond 
tlinso  T  havn  cited,  and  directs  with  emphasis  the  attention  of 
the  reader  to  this  coustaiit  repetition. 


=  i 


I  I 


i      f 


!       i 


L 


70 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


It  is  sufficient  that  it  be  displayed  in  some  of  its  more 
unusual  applications. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  calendar  common  to  the 
Aztecs  and  Mayas  divides  the  month  into  four  weeks, 
each  containing  a  like  number  of  secular  days ;  that 
their  indiction  is  divided  into  four  periods ;  and  that 
they  believed  the  world  had  passed  through  four 
cycles.  It  has  not  been  sufficiently  emphasized  that 
iji  many  of  the  picture  writings  these  days  of  the  week 
are  placed  respectively  north,  south,  east,  and  west, 
and  that  in  the  Maya  language  the  quarters  of  the 
indiction  still  bear  the  names  of  the  cardinal  points, 
hinting  the  reason  of  their  adoption.^  This  cannot 
be  fortuitous.  Again,  the  division  of  the  year  into 
four  seasons — a  division  as  devoid  of  foundation  in 
nature  as  that  of  the  ancient  Aryans  into  three,  and 
unknown  among  many  tribes,  yet  obtained  in  very 
early  times  among  Algonkins,  Cherokees,  Choctaws, 
Creeks,  Aztecs,  Muyscas,  Peruvians,  and  Araucanians. 
They  Avere  supposed  to  be  produced  by  the  unending 
struggles  and  varying  fortunes  of  the  four  aerial  giants 
who  rule  tiie  winds. 

"We  must  seek  in  mythology  the  key  to  the  monot- 
onous lepetition  and  the  sanctity  of  this  number; 
and  furthermore,  Ave  must  seek  it  in  those  natural 
modes  of  expression  of  the  religious  sentiment  which 
are  above  the  power  of  blood  or  circumstance  to  con- 
trol. One  of  these  modes,  Ave  have  seen,  Avas  that 
Avhich  led  to  the  identification  of  tlio  divinity  Avith 
the  Avind,  and  this  it  is  that  solves  the  enigma  in  the 


1  Albort  Oiillatin,  Tnv».«.  Aju.  Elhnol.  Soc,  ii.  p.  316,  from  the 
Codex  Vaticiinus,  Xo.  3738. 


I 


-ii 


I 

I 


THE  FOUR  WINDS. 


11 


pre  nt  instance.  Universally  the  spirits  of  the  car- 
dinal points  were  imagined  to  be  in  the  winds  that 
blew  from  them.  The  names  of  these  directions  and 
of  the  corresponding  winds  are  often  the  same,  and  when 
not,  there  exists  an  intimate  connection  between  them. 
For  example,  take  the  languages  of  the  jNIayas,  Iluas- 
tecas,  and  Moscos  of  Central  America  ;  in  all  of  them 
the  word  for  north  is  synonymous  with  north  ivind,  and 
so  on  for  the  other  three  points  of  the  compass.  Or 
again,  that  of  the  Dakotas,  and  the  word  tate-oni/c-toba, 
translated  "  the  four  quarters  of  the  heavens,"  means 
literally,  "  whence  the  four  winds  come."  ^  It  were 
not  difficult  to  extend  the  list ;  but  illustrations  are  all 
that  is  required.  Let  it  be  remembered  how  closely 
the  motions  of  the  air  are  assot3iated  in  Ihought  and 
language  with  the  operations  of  the  soul  and  the  idea 
of  God  ;  let  it  further  be  considered  what  support  this 
association  receives  from  the  power  of  the  winds  on 
the  weather,  bringing  as  they  do  the  lightning  and 
the  storm,  the  zephyr  that  cools  the  brow,  and  the 
tornado  that  levels  the  forest ;  how  they  summon  the 
rain  to  fertilize  the  seed  and  refresh  the  shrivelled 
leaves;  how  they  aid  the  hunter  to  stalk  the  game, 
and  usher  in  the  varying  seasons  ;  how,  indeed,  in  a 
hundred  ways,  they  intimately  conc^ern  liis  comfort 
and  his  life ;  and  it  Avill  not  seem  strange  that  they 
almost  occupied  the  place  of  all  other  gods  in  the 
mind  of  the  child  of  nature.  Especially  as  those  who 
gave  or  withheld  the  rains  were  tlie  objects  of  his 
anxious  solicitation.  "  Ye  who  dwell  at  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth — at  the  north,  at  the  south,  at 

1  Riggs,  Gram,  and  Diet,  of  the  Dakota  Lang..,  s.  v. 


I 


78 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


the  east,  and  at  the  west,"  commenced  the  Aztec 
]>rayer  to  the  Thilocs,  gods  of  the  showers.^  For 
they,  as  it  were,  hold  the  food,  the  life  of  man  in 
their  power,  garnered  up  on  high,  to  grant  or  deny,  as 
they  see  fit.  It  was  from  them  that  the  prophet  of  old 
was  directed  to  call  back  the  si)irits  of  the  dead  to  the 
dry  bones  of  the  valley.  "•  Prophesy  unto  the  wind, 
prophesy,  son  of  man,  and  say  to  the  wind,  thus  sailh 
the  Lord  God,  come  forth  from  the  four  winds,  () 
breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain,  that  they  may 
live."     (Ezek.  xxxvii.  9.) 

In  the  same  spirit  the  j)riests  of  the  Eskimos  prayed 
to  Sillam  Innua^  the  Owner  of  the  Winds,  as  the 
highest  existence ;  the  al)ode  of  the  dead  they  called 
S'dlani  AijMiie^  the  House  of  the  Winds ;  and  in  their 
incantations,  when  they  would  summon  a  new  soul  to 
the  sick,  or  order  back  to  its  home  some  troublesome 
spirit,  their  invocations  were  ever  addressed  to  the 
winds  from  the  cardinal  points — to  Pauna  the  East, 
and  Sauna  the  West,  to  Kauna  the  South  and  Auna 
the  North.'- 

As  the  rain-bringers,  as  the  life-givers,  it  were  no 
far-fetched  metaphor  to  call  them  the  fathers  of  our 
race.  Hardly  a  nation  on  the  continent  but  seems  to 
have  had  some  vague  tradition  of  an  origin  from  four 
brotliers,  to  have  at  some  time  been  led  by  four  lead- 
ers or  princes,  or  in  some  manner  to  have  connectec]. 
the  appearance  and  action  of  four  important  pui'MUlh 

^  Sahagim,  Hht.  do  h\  iVf(ei>«  ??s|)n/lfi,  III  Kinffsbovoiit,rli,  y.  p. 

*  |9g»H|ti,  SWhnehtpx  von  Gronland,  pp.  107,  ITi),  285.     (Ivq- 
^ioli|iugou,  1700.)     "  "  ""  ,  .     ,  ..  ,u 


THE  FOUR  ANCESTORS. 


79 


i  I 


III 


ages  with  its  earliest  traditional  history.  Soin(!tiiries 
the  myth  defines  clearly  these  fabled  characters  us  tlie 
spirits  of  the  winds,  sometimes  it  clothes  them  in  un- 
couth, grotesque  metapliors,  sometimes  again  it  so 
weaves  them  into  actual  history  that  we  are  at  a 
loss  where  to  draw  the  line  that  divides  fiction  from 
truth. 

I  shall  attempt  to  folio av  step  by  step  the  growth 
of  this  myth  from  its  simplest  expression,  wh(!rt;  the 
transparent  drapery  makes  no  pretence  to  conceal  its 
true  meaning,  through  the  ever  more  elaborate  narra- 
tives, the  more  strongly  marlced  personifications  of 
more  cultivated  nations,  until  it  assumes  the  outlines 
of,  and  lias  palmed  itself  ui^on  the  world  as  actual 
history. 

This  simplest  form  is  that  which  alone  appears 
among  the  Algonkins  and  Dakotas.  They  both 
traced  their  lives  back  to  four  ancestors,  personages 
concerned  in  various  ways  with  the  liist  things  of 
tiiT*:,  not  rigjilly  distinguislied  as  men  or  gods,  but 
very  positively  identified  with  the  four  winds. 
Wliether  from  one  or  all  of  these  the  world  was 
peopled,  whether  y  process  of  generation  or  some 
other  more  obscure  way,  the  old  people  had  not  saUl, 
or  saying,  Jiad  not  agreed.^ 

it  is  a  shade  more  complex  when  we  conui  to  the 
Creeks.  Tiiey  told  of  four  nu!u  who  cjune  from  Hie 
four  corners  of  I  lie  eiiidi,  wlio  brought  them  the 
puered  lli-i),  liiitl  pollilcil  (Uit  the  Mc\cn  sacred  phmU. 
^Iiey  were  called  the  lli-3(ju-yul-gee,  a  sort  of  cubul- 


i 


i  t 


*  H|i||nii|t!vi||1,  Mm'  yilimi/vAi.v,  1.  p.  lan,  uiid   l,uUan  Tribes, 

iv.  1..  liuu.         ■ 


^1 


80 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


V      ! 


istic  word,  the  plural  form  of  tlicir  common  invoca- 
tion, hi-yo-yu.  litiving  rendered  them  this  service, 
the  kindly  visitors  disappeared  in  a  cloud,  returning 
Avhencc  they  came.  When  another  and  more  ancient 
IcLjend  informs  us  that  the  Creeks  were  at  first  di- 
vided into  four  clans,  and  alleged  a  descent  from  four 
female  ancestors,  it  will  hardly  be  venturing  too  far 
to  recognize  in  these  four  ancestors  the  four  friendly 
2)atrons  from  the  cardinal  i)oints.^ 

The  ancient  inhabitants  of  Jfaiti,  when  first  dis- 
covered by  the  Spaniards,  liad  a  ..imihir  genealogical 
story,  which  ]\>ter  jNIartyr  relates  with  various  ex- 
cuses for  its  silliness  aud  exclamations  at  its  absurdi- 
ty. Perluips  the  fault  lay  less  in  its  lack  of  meaning 
than  in  his  want  of  insight.  It  was  to  the  effect 
tliat  men  lived  in  caves,  and  were  destroyed  by  the 
parching  rays  of  the  sun,  and  were  destitute  of  means 
to  prolong  their  race,  until  they  caught  and  subject- 
ed to  their  use  four  women  Avho  Mere  swift  of  foot 
and  slippeiy  as  eels.  These  were  llie  mothers  of  the 
race  of  men.  Or  again,  it  was  said  that  a  certain 
king  had  a  huge  gourd  which  contained  all  the  wa- 
ters of  the  eartli ;  four  brothers,  who  coming  into 
the  world  at  one  birth  had  cost  their  mother  her  life, 
ventured  to  the  gourd  to  fish,  picked  it  up,  but  fright- 
ened by  the  old  king's  approach,  dropped  it  on  the 
g 'ound,  broke  it  into  fragments,  and  scattered  the 
waters  over  the  earth,  forming  the  seas,  lakes,  and 
rivers,  as  they  now  are.  These  brothers  in  time  be- 
came the  fathers  of  a  nation,  and  to  them  they  traced 


1  Hawkins,  Sketch  of  the  Creek  Country, '^Y'-  ^1)  82,  and  my 
essay,  The  National  Legend  of  the  Chahta  Muskukee  Tribe,  p.  11. 


TITE  FOUR  RAIN  BRINGERS. 


81 


tlicir  lino'^:^c.^  With  thn  previous  examplofi  before 
our  eyes,  it  asks  no  vivid  fuucy  to  see  in  these  (|iui- 
tcriiioiis  once  more  tlie  i'our  winds,  the  Iningers  oT 
rain,  so  swifc  and  so  slippery. 

The  Navajos  are  a  rude  tribe  north  of  Mexico. 
Yet  even  they  liavo  an  allegory  to  the  effect  that 
-wlien  the  fust  man  came  up  from  the  ground  under 
Ihe  figure  of  the  moth-worm,  the  four  spirits  of  the 
cardinal  points  were  already  there,  and  hailed  him 
with  the  exclamation,  "  Lo,  he  is  of  our  race." "  It  is 
a  poor  and  feeble  effort  to  tell  the  same  old  story. 

The  i\Iayas  of  Yucatan  shared  this  ancestral  legend, 
for  in  an  ancient  manuseripL  found  by  j\lr.  Stepln^nH 
during  his  travels,  it  ap[)ears  they  looked  back  to  four 
parents  or  leaders  called  theTutulXiu.  But,  indeed, 
this  was  a  trait  of  all  the  civilized  nations  of  Central 
America  and  Mexico.  An  author  who  was  very  un- 
willing to  admit  any  mythical  interpretation  of  the 
coincidence,  has  adverted  to  it  in  tones  of  astonish- 
ment:  "In  all  the  Aztec  and  Toltec  histories  there 
are  four  characters  who  constantly  reai)pear ;  cither 
as  priests  or  envoys  of  the  gods,  or  of  hidden  and 
disguised  majesty  ;  or  as  guides  and  chieftains  of  tribes 
during  their  migrations ;  or  as  kings  and  rulers  of 
monarchies  after  their  foundation;  and  even  to  the 
time  of  the  conij^ucst,  there  are  always  four  princes 


1  Peter  Martyr,  Be  Heh.  Ocean.,  Dec.  i.  lib.  ix.  The  story 
is  told  more;  at  length  by  the  Brother  Kanioii  Pane,  in  the  ab- 
stract of  native  traditions  he  drew  u[)  by  the  order  of  Columbus. 
I  have  given  them  from  several  sources,  among  otheis  the  un- 
iad)lish(!d  works  of  Las' Casus,  in  The  Arnwuch  Ldnijuaye  in  lis 
Linyuisllc  and  Et/niolofjical  Relations,  Phiki.,  1S71. 

'^  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  iv.  p.  89. 

0 


[I       >™  ;. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


f/. 


!.0 


II 


1^  1^    112.2 
^   1^    12.0 


iS. 


1-25     u  |i.6 

« 6"    

► 

Photographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  87!2-4503 


\ 


:\ 


\ 


^ 


^9) 


V 


6^" 


'^ 


fc 


0^ 


V 


82 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


who  compose  the  supreme  government,  whether  in 
Guatemala,  or  in  Mexico."  ^  This  fourfold  division 
points  not  to  a  common  history  but  to  a  common 
nature.  The  ancient  heroes  and  demigods,  who,  four 
in  number,  figure  in  all  these  antique  traditions, 
were  not  men  of  flesh  and  blood,  but  the  invisible 
currents  of  air  who  brought  the  fertilizing  showers. 

They  corresponded  to  the  four  gods  Bacab,  Avho  in 
the  Yucatecan  mythology  were  supposed  to  stand  one 
at  each  corner  of  the  world,  supporting,  like  gigantic 
caryatides,  the  overhanging  firmament.  When  at  the 
general  deluge  all  other  gods  and  men  were  swallowed 
by  the  waters  they  alone  escaped  to  people  it  anew. 
These  four,  known  by  the  names  of  Kan,  Muluc,  Ix, 
and  Cauac,  represented  respectively  the  east,  north, 
west,  and  south,  and  as  in  Oriental  symbolism,  so 
here  each  quarter  of  the  compass  was  distinguished 
by  a  color,  the  east  by  yellow,  the  south  by  red,  the 
west  by  black,  and  the  north  by  Avhite.  The  names 
of  these  mysterious  personages,  employed  &;cmewhat 
as  we  do  the  Dominical  letters,  adjusted  the  calendar 
of  the  Mayas,  and  by  their  propitious  or  portentous 
combinations  was  arranged  their  system  of  judicial 
astrology.  They  were  the  gods  of  rain,  and  under 
the  title  Chac,  the  Red  Ones,  were  the  chief  ministers 
of  the  highest  power.  As  such  they  were  represent- 
ed in  the  religious  ceremonies  by  four  old  men,  con- 
stant attendants  on  the  high  priest  in  his  ofliciul 
functions."      In  this    most  civilized  branch  of    the 


1  Brasseur,  Le  Lie.  Sac,  Introd.,  p.  cxvii. 

2  Diego  de  Landa,  Rel.  de  las  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  pp.  ICO,  9.0Q, 
208,  ed.  Brasseur.  The  learned  editor,  i  \  a  note  to  p.  208, 
states  erroneously  the  disposition  of  the  colors,  as  may  be  seen 


QUICHE  LEGENDS. 


83 


red  race,  as  everywhere  else,  we  thus  find  four  my- 
thological characters  prominent  beyond  all  others, 
giving  a  peculiar  physiognomy  to  the  national  le- 
gends, arts,  and  sciences,  and  in  them  once  more 
we  recognize  by  signs  infallible,  personifications  of 
the  four  cardinal  points  and  the  four  winds. 

They  rarely  lose  altogether  their  true  character. 
The  Quiche  legends  tell  us  that  the  four  men  who 
were  first  created  by  the  Heart  of  Heaven,  Hurakan, 
the  Air  iii  Motion,  Avere  infinitely  keen  of  eye  and 
swift  of  foot,  that  "  they  measured  and  saw  all  that 
exists  al;  the  four  corners  and  the  four  angles  of  the 
sky  and  the  earth  ;"  that  they  did  not  fulfil  the  design 
of  their  maker  "  to  bring  forth  and  produce  when 
the  season  of  harvest  was  near,"  until  he  blew  into 
their  eyes  a  cloud,  "  until  their  faces  were  obscured 
as  when  one  breathes  on  a  mirror."  Then  he 
gave  them  of  wives  the  four  mothers  of  our  species, 
names  were  Falling  Water,  Beautiful  Water,  Water 
of  Ser[«euts,  and  Water  of  Birds.*  Truly  lie  who 
can    see    aught     but    a    transparent    myth    in    this 


*     I 


i 


by  comparing  the  rlocumont  on  p.  395.  This  dedication  of 
colors  to  the  cardinal  points  is  universal  in  Central  Asia.  The 
geographical  names  of  the  Ked  Sea,  the  Black  Sea,  the  Yellow 
Sea,  or  Persian  Gulf,  and  the  White  Sea  or  the  Mediterranean, 
are  dei-ived  from  this  association.  The  cities  of  China,  many 
of  them  at  least,  have  their  gates  which  open  toward  the  cardi- 
nal points  painted  of  certain  colors,  and  precisely  these  four, 
the  white,  the  black,  the  red,  and  the  yellow,  Jire  those  which 
in  Oriental  myth  the  mountain  in  the  centre  of  Paradise  shows 
to  the  different  cardinal  points.  (Sepp,  Ileidentlmm  ttnd  CJtrls- 
terfhum  i.  p.  177.)  The  Cv  icidonce  furnishes  food  for  reflection. 
^  Le  Livre  Sacre  des  Quichi's,  I)]).  203-5,  note. 


i  I 


)'■- 


if 

it 


81 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


recital,  is  a  realist  that  would  astonish  Euhemeriis 
himself. 

There  is  in  these  Aztec  legends  a  quaternion  be- 
sides this  of  the  first  men,  one  that  bears  marks  of  a 
profound  contemplation  on  the  course  of  nature,  one 
that  answers  to  the  former  as  the  heavenly  phase  of 
the  earthly  conception.  It  is  seen  in  the  four  per- 
sonages, or  perhaps  we  should  say  modes  of  action, 
that  make  up  the  one  Supreme  Cause  of  All,  Hura- 
kan,  the  breath,  the  wind,  the  Divine  Spirit.  They 
are  He  who  creates.  He  who  gives  Form,  He  who 
gives  Life,  and  He  who  reproduces.^  This  acute  and 
extraordinary  analysis  of  the  origin  and  laws  of  or- 
ganic life,  clothed  under  the  ancient  belief  in  the 
action  of  the  winds,  reveals  a  depth  of  thought  for 
.  which  we  were  hardly  prepared,  and  is  perhaps  the 
single  instance  of  anything  like  metaphysics  among 
the  red  race.  It  is  clearly  visible  in  the  earlier  portions 
of  the  legends  of  the  Quiches,  and  is  the  more  surely 
of  native  origin  as  it  has  been  quite  lost  on  both  their 
translators. 

Go  where  we  will,  the  same  story  meets  us.  The 
empire  of  the   Incas   was   attributed  in  the  sacred 

1  The  anilogy  is  remarkable  between  these  and  the  "qnatre 
actes  de  la  puissance  generatrice  jusqu'h.  I'entier  developpenient 
des  corps  organises,"  portrayed  by  four  globes  in  the  Mycenean 
bas-reliefs.  See  Giiigniaut,  Relifjions  de  VAntiquiU^,  i.  p.  374. 
It  were  -^asy  to  multiply  the  instances  of  such  parallelism  in  the 
growth  of  religious  thought  in  the  Old  and  New  World,  but  I  de- 
signedly refrain  from  doin^,  so.  They  have  already  given  rise  to 
false  theories  enough,  and  a  discussion  of  their  significance  is  not 
embraced  in  the  design  of  the  present  work.  For  this  I  must  re- 
fer the  reader  to  the  general  principles  of  mythology  laid  down  in 
my  work  entitled:  The  Reliyious  Sentiment,  its  Source  and  Aim. 


THE  ANCESTORS  OF  THE  IN  CAS. 


86 


chants  of  the  Amautas,  the  priests  assigned  to  take 
charge  of  the  records,  to  four  brothers  and  their 
wives.  These  mythical  civilizers  are  said  "  to  have 
emerged  from  a  cave  called  Pacari  tampu^  a  birthplace," 
which  may  also  mean  "  the  House  of  Subsistence," 
reminding  us  of  the  four  heroes  who  in  Aztec  legend 
set  forth  to  people  the  world  from  Tonacatepec,  "  the 
mountain  of  our  subsistence ;  "  or  again  it  may  mean 
— for  like  many  of  these  n  ythical  names  it  seems  to 
have  been  designedly  chosen  to  bear  a  double  con- 
struction— the  Lodgings  of  the  Dawn,  recalling  an- 
other Aztec  legend  which  points  for  the  birthplace  of 
the  race  to  Tula  in  the  distant  orient.  The  cave  it- 
self suggests  to  the  classical  reader  that  of  Eolus,  or 
may  be  paralleled  with  that  in  which  the  Iroquois 
fabled  the  ^^  inds  were  imprisoned  by  their  lord,'  or 
with  that  in  Avhich,  according  to  early  Christian  le- 
gend, Jesus  was  born.  These  brothers  were  of  no 
common  kin.  Their  voices  could  shake  the  earth 
and  their  hands  heap  up  mountains.  Like  the  thun- 
der god,  they  stood  on  the  hills  and  hurled  their 
sling-stones  to  the  four  corners  of  the  earth.  When 
one  was  overpowered  he  fled  upward  to  the  heaven 
or  was  turned  into  stone,  and  it  was  by  their  aid  and 
counsel  that  the  savages  who  possessed  the  land  re- 
nounced their  barbarous  habits  and  commenced  to 
till  the  soil.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  this 
in  turn  is  but  another  transformation  of  the  Protean 
myth  we  have  so  long  pursued.^ 


Vi 

m 


|r 


III 


^Miiller,  Amer.  Urreligtonen,  p.  105,  after  Strahlheim,  who  is, 
however,  no  authority. 

2  Miiller,  ?J>i  supra,  pp.  308  sqq.,  gives  agood  icsiimd  of  the 
different  versions  of  the  nivth  of  the  four  brothers  in  Peru. 


86 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


There  are  traces  of  the  same  legend  among  many 
other  tribes  of  the  continent,  but  the  trustworthy 
reports  we  have  of  them  are  too  scanty  to  permit 
analysis.  Enough  that  they  are  mentioned  in  a  note, 
for  it  i,j  every  way  likely  that  could  we  resolve  their 
meaning  they  too  would  carry  us  back  to  the  four 
winds.^ 


1  The  Tupis  of  Brazil  claim  a  descent  from  four  brothers, 
three  of  whose  names  ai'e  given  by  Ilans  Staden,  a  prisoner 
among  them  about  1550,  as  Krimen,  Hermittan,  and  Coem;  the 
latter  he  explains  to  mean  the  morning,  tl  3  east  (Je  viatin,  print- 
ed l»y  mistake  le  miitin,  Relation  de  Hans  Studen  de  Ilomherg,  p. 
271,  ed.  Ternaux  Compans;  compare  Dias,  Dice,  da  Lingua  Tupfj, 
p.  47).     Their  southern  relatives,  the  Guaranis  of  Paraguay, 
also  spoke  of  the  four  brothers  and  gave  two  of  their  names  as 
Tupi  and  Guarani,  respectively  parents  of  the  tribes  called  after 
tl.em  (Guevara,  Jlist.  del  Paragiuvj,  lib.  i.  cap.  ii.,  in  Waitz). 
The  fourfold  div^ision  of  the  Muyscas  of  Bogota  was  traced 
back  to  four  chieftains  created  by  their  hero  god  Nemqueteba 
(A.  von  Ilumbol  It,  Fwes  r/es  Cordillh-'s,  j).  2-46).     The  Nahuas 
of  Mexico  much  more  frequently  spoke  of  themselves  as  descend- 
ants of  four  or  eight  original  families  than  of  seven   (Hum- 
boldt, jfi/J.,  p.  317,  and  others  in  AVaitz,  Anthrojiologie^iv.y^. 
36,  37).     The  Sacs  or  Sauks  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  supposed 
that  two  men  and  two  women   were  first  created,  and  from 
these  four  sprang  all  men    (Morse,  Rep.  on  Ind.  Affairs,  App. 
p.  138).  The  Ottoes,  Pawnees,  "  and  other  Indians,"  had  a  tradi- 
tion that  from  eight  ancestors  all  nations  and  races  were  de- 
scended (Id.,  p.  249).     This  dujilication  of  the  number  probably 
arose  from  assiq-ninsr  the  first  four  men  four  women  as  wives. 
The   division  into    clans   or  totems   which    prevails  in   most 
northern  tribes  rests  theoretically  on  descent  from  different  an- 
cestors.    The  Sliawnees  and   Natchez  were  divided  into  four 
such  clans,   the  Choctaws,  Xavajos,  and  Iroquois   into  eight, 
thus  proving  that  in  those  trib^^is  also  the  myth  I  have  been  dis- 
cussing was    recognized.      Tlie   tribe   visited  by  Lederer  in 
southern  Virginia  was  composed  of  four  clans,  wiio  did  not  in- 


NUMEROUS  MYTHS. 


87 


1 1 


Lot  no  one  suppose,  however,  that  this  was  the 
only  myth  of  the  origin  of  man.  Far  from  it.  It 
was  but  one  of  many,  for,  as  I  shall  hereafter  attempt 
to  show,  the  laws  that  governed  the  formations  of 
such  myths  not  only  allowed  but  enjoined  great 
divergence  of  form.  Equally  far  was  it  from  being 
the  only  image  which  the  inventive  fancy  hit  upon 
to  express  the  action  of  the  winds  as  the  rain  bringers. 
They  too  were  many,  but  may  all  be  included  in  a 
twofold  division,  either  as  tlie  winds  were  supposed  to 
flow  in  from  the  corners  of  the  earth  or  outward  from 
its  central  point.  Thus  they  are  spoken  of  under  such 
figures  as  four  tortoises  at  the  angles  of  the  earthly 
plane  who  vomit  forth  the  rains,^  or  four  gigantic 
caryatides  who  sustain  the  heavens  and  blow  the 
winds  from  their  capacious  lungs,  ^  or  more  frequently 
as  four  rivers  flowing  from  the  broken  calabash  on 
high,  as  the  Haitians,  draining  the  waters  of  the 
primitive  world,'^  as  four  animals  who  bring  from 
hoaven  the  maize,^  as  four  messengers  whom  the  god 
of  air  sends  forth,  or  under  a  coarser  trope  as  the 
spittle  he  ejects  toward  the  cardinal  points  wliich  is 
straightway  transformed  into  wild  rice,  tobacco,  and 
maize.'^ 

Constantly  from  the  palace  of  the  lord  of  the 
world,  seated  on  the  high  hill  of  heaven,  blow  four 


I 


ill 


;> 


r,ii. 


t>vmarry   and  had   separate    burial   places    (^DUcoverles,  p.  5. 
Loudon,  1G72). 

*  Maiidans  in  Catlin,  Letts,  and  Notes,  i.  p.  181. 

^  Tlie  Mayas,  Cofjolkido,  Hist,  de  Yncothan,  lib.  iv.  cap.  8. 
^  1'ho  Navajos,  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes.,  iv.  p.  89. 

*  The  Quiches,  Xiineues,  Or.  de  los  Tndios,  p.  79. 

fi  The  Iroquois,  Miiller,  Amer.  Urreligionen,  p.  109. 


f\l 


iik 


;      i 


88 


TIJE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


wiiub,  pour  four  streams,  refreshing  and  fecundating 
the  earth.  Therefore,  in  tlie  myths  of  ancient  Iran 
there  is  mention  of  a  celestial  fountain,  Arduisur,  tho 
virgin  daughter  of  Orniuzd,  whence  four  all  nourish- 
ing rivers  roll  their  waves  toward  tho  cardinal 
2)oints ;  therefore  the  Thibetans  believe  that  on  the 
sacred  mountain  Himavata  groM'S  the  tree  of  life 
Zanipu,  from  whose  foot  once  more  flow  the  waters 
of  life  in  four  streams  to  tho  four  quarters  of  the 
world ;  and  therefore  it  is  that  the  same  tale  is  told 
by  the  Chinese  of  the  mountain  Kouantun,  by  the 
Brahmins  of  Mount  Meru,  by  the  Edda  of  the  moun- 
tain in  Asaheim  whence  flows  the  spring  Hvergelmir, 
and  by  the  Parsees  of  Mount  Albors  in  the  Cau- 
casus.^ Each  nation  called  their  sacred  mountain 
"  the  navel  of  the  earth ; "  for  not  only  was  it  the 
supposed  centre  of  the  habitable  world,  but  through 
it,  as  the  foetus  through  the  umbilical  cord,  tho  earth 
drew  her  increase.  Beyond  all  other  spots  were  they 
accounted  fertile,  scenes  of  joyous  plaisance,  of  re- 
pose, and  eternal  youth;  there  rij^pled  the  waters 
of  health,  there  blossomed  the  tree  of  life ;  they  were 
fit  trysting  spots  of  gods  and  men.  Hence  came  the 
tales  of  the  terrestrial  paradise,  the  rose  garden  of 
Feridun,  the  Eden  gardens  of  the  world.  The  name 
shows  the  origin,  for  paradise  (in  Sanscrit,  jt^ara  desa') 
means  literally  hi<jh  land.  There,  in  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  the  Orient,  dwelt  once  in  unalloyed  de- 
light the  first  of  men ;  thence  driven  by  untoward 
fate,  no  more  anywhere  could   they  find  the   path 

1  For  tliese  myths  see  Sepp,  Da.f  Ileidenlhum  und  dessen  Be- 
deutwig  fiir  das  Christcnthum,  i.  p.  Ill  sqq.  The  interpretation 
is  of  course  my  own. 


THE  EARTHLY  rARADlSE. 


80 


1 1 


thither.  Some  thought  that  in  the  north,  among  the 
fortunate  Hyperboreans,  others  that  in  the  mountains 
of  the  moon  where  dwelt  the  long-lived  Ethiopians, 
and  others  again  tliat  in  the  furthest  east,  underneath 
tlie  dawn,  was  situate  the  seat  of  pristine  happiness ; 
but  many  were  of  opinion  that  somewhere  in  the 
western  sea,  beyond  the  pillars  of  Hercules  and  the 
waters  of  the  Outer  Ocean,  lay  the  garden  of  the 
Hesperides,  the  Islands  of  the  Blessed,  the  earthly 
Elysion. 

It  is  not  without  design  that  I  recall  this  early 
dream  of  the  religious  fancy.  When  Christopher 
Columbus,  fired  by  the  hope  of  discovering  this  ter- 
restrial paradise,^  broke  the  enchantment  of  the 
cloudy  sea  and  found  a  new  world,  it  A^  as  but  to  light 
upon  the  same  race  of  men,  deluding  themselves  with 
the  same  hope  of  earthly  joys,  the  same  fiction  of  a 
long  lost  garden  of  their  youth.  They  told  him  that 
still  to  the  west,  amid  the  mountains  of  Paria,  was  a 
spot  whence  flowed  mighty  streams  over  all  lands, 
and  which  in  sooth  was  the  spot  lie  sought ;  ^  and 
when  that  baseless  fabric  had  vanished,  there  still 
remained  the  fabled  island  of  I5oiuca,  or  Bimini, 
hundreds  of  leagues  north  of  Hispaniola,  whose  glebe 
was  watered  by  a  fountain  of  such  noble  virtue  as  to 
restore  youth  and  vigor  to  the  worn  out  and  the 
asred.^  This  was  no  fiction  of  the  natives  to  rid  them- 
selves  of  burdensome  guests.  Long  before  the  white 
man   approached  their  shores,  families  had  started 

^  See  Xavarrete,  Viagefi,  i.  p.  259. 

2  Peter  Martyr,  I)e  Reh.    Ocean.,    Dec.  iii.,  Lb.  ix.  p.  195  : 
Colon,  1574. 

*>  Ibid.,  Dec.  lii,,  lib.  x.  p.  202.  ;^     , 


'  \ 


:    I  .         ,1.1 

It 

1    il 


I' 


-r 


ii ' 


00 


THE  SACRED  NUMliEll. 


from  Cuba,  Yucatan,  and  Honduras  in  search  of  these 
renovating  waters,  and  not  returning,  were  supposed 
by  their  kindred  to  have  been  detained  by  tlio  do- 
lights  of  tliat  enchanted  land,  and  to  bo  revelling  iu 
its  seductive  joys,  forgetful  of  former  ties.^ 

Perhaps  it  was  but  another  rendering  of  the  same 
belief  that  poiuvjd  to  the  imj)enetrablo  forests  of  the 
Orinoko,  the  ancient  homes  of  the  Ca'ibs  and  Ara- 
wacks,  and  there  located  the  famous  realm  of  El 
Dorado  with  its  imperial  capital  Manoa,  abounding 
in  precious  metals  and  all  manner  of  gems,  peopled 
by  a  happy  race,  and  governed  by  an  equitable  ruler. 

The  Aztec  priests  never  chanted  more  regretful 
dirges  than  when  they  sang  of  Tulan,  the  cradle  of 
their  race,  where  once  it  dwelt  in  peaceful,  indolent 
happiness,  whose  groves  were  filled  with  birds  of 
sweet  voices  and  gay  plumage,  whose  generous  soil 
brought  forth  spontaneously  maize,  cocoa,  aromatic 
gums,  and  fragrant  flowers.  "Land  of  riches  and 
plenty,  where  the  gourds  grow  an  arm's  length  across, 
where  an  ear  of  corn  is  a  load  for  a  stout  man,  and 
its  stalks  are  as  high  as  trees  ;  land  Avhere  the  cotton 
ripens  of  its  own  accord  of  all  rich  tints ;  land 
abounding  with  limpid  emeralds,  turquoises,  gold 
and  silver."  ^     This  land  was  also  called  Tlalocan, 

^  Florida  was  also  lonj?  supposed  to  be  the  site  of  this  won- 
drous spring,  and  it  is  notorious  that  both  Juan  Ponce  de  Leou 
and  De  Soto  had.  some  lurking  hope  of  discovering  it  in  their 
expeditions  thither.  I  have  examined  the  myth  somewhat 
at  length  in  Notes  on  the  FJnrlditn  Peninsula,  its  Literary  His- 
tory, Indian  Tribes,  and  Antiquities,  pi>.  99,  100  :  Philadelphia, 
1859. 

^  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  la  Nueva  Espafia,  lib.  iii.  cap.  iii. 


I  : 


'Ij 


THE  EAllTllLY  PARADISE 


91 


from  Tlaloc,  the  god  of  rain,  who  there  had  his 
dwelling-place,  and  Tlapallan,  tlie  land  of  colors,  or 
the  red  land,  for  the  hues  of  the  sky  at  sunrise  floated 
over  it.  Its  inhabitants  were  surnamed  children  of 
the  air,  or  of  Quetzalcoatl,  and  from  its  centre  rose 
the  holy  mountain  Tonacatepec,  the  mountain  of  our 
life  or  subsistence.  Its  supposed  location  was  in  the 
east,  whence  in  that  country  blow  the  winds  that 
bring  mild  rains,  says  Sahagun,  and  that  missionary 
was  himself  asked,  as  coming  from  the  east,  whether 
his  home  was  in  Tlapallan ;  more  definitely  by  some 
it  was  situated  among  the  lofty  peaks  on  the  frontiers 
of  Guatemala,  and  all  the  great  rivers  that  water  the 
earth  were  supposed  to  have  their  sources  there.* 
But  here,  as  elsewhere,  its  site  was  not  determined. 
"There  is  a  Tulan,"  says  an  ancient  authority, 
*'  where  the  sun  rises,  and  there  is  another  in  the  land 
of  shades,  and  another  where  the  sun  reposes,  and 
thence  came  we  ;  and  still  another  where  the  sun  re- 
poses, and  there  dwells  God."  * 


;''' 


1  Le  TJvre  Sacrd  des  Quichtfs,  Introd.,  p.  clviii. 

^  Aremo7'ud  de  Tecpan  AtUlav,m  l]Y:\ssexxT,  Hist,  de  Mexique, 
i.  p.  107.  The  derivation  of  Tulan,  or  Tula,  is  extremely  un- 
certain. TliG  Abbe  lirasseur  saw  in  it  tlie  tdtima  T/iuIe  of  tho 
ancient  geoj^raphers,  which  suited  his  idea  of  early  American  his- 
tory. Hernando  De  Soto  found  a  village  of  this  name  on  the 
Mississippi,  or  near  it.  But  on  looking  into  Gallatin's  vocabula- 
ries, tidla  turns  out  to  be  the  Choctaw  word  for  stoo?,  and  as  De 
Soto  was  then  in  t'le  Choctaw  country,  tho  coincidence  is  ex- 
plained at  once.  Ruschmann,  who  spoils  it  ToUan,  takes  it  from 
tnlin,  a  rush,  and  translates  Junrefiivi,  Ort  dcr  B'uisen.  (Ucher 
die  Aztekhchen  Orstnamen,  p.  082.)  Those  who  have  attempted 
to  make  history  from  those  mytliological  fables  liave  been  much 
puzzled  about  tho  location  of  this  mystic  land.     Humboldt  has 


M 


m 


^ 


1)2 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


The  myth  of  the  Quiclios  but  chungea  the  name  of 
this  pleasant  land.  With  them  it  was  I\in-pax'd-pa- 
cai/ala,  where  the  waters  divide  in  falling,  or,  between 
the  waters  parcelled  out  and  mucky.  This  was  "  an 
excellent  land,  full  of  pleasant  things,  where  was 
store  of  white  corn  and  yellow  corn,  where  one  could 
not  count  the  fruits,  nor  estimate  the  quantity  of 
honey  and  food."  Over  it  ruled  the  lord  of  the  air, 
and  from  it  tlie  four  sacred  animals  carried  the  corn 
to  make  the  llesh  of  men.  * 

OncG  again,  in  the  legends  of  the  Mixtccas,  we 
hear  the  old  story  rejieated  of  the  garden  where  the 
first  two  brothers  dwelt.  It  lay  between  a  meadow 
and  that  lofty  peak  which  supports  tiie  heavens  and 
the  palaces  of  the  gods.  "  Many  trees  were  there, 
such  as  yield  flowers  and  roses,  very  luscious  fruits, 
divers  herbs,  and  aromatic  spices."  The  names  of 
the  brothers  were  the  Wind  of  Nine  Serpents,  and 
the  Wind  of  Nine  Caverns.  The  first  was  as  an 
eagle,  and  flew  aloft  over  the  waters  that  poured 

I)lacpd  it  on  the  northwest  coast,  Cabrera  at  Palenque,  Clavigero 
north  of  Anahuac,  etc.,  etc.  M.  de  Charencey  remarks  that  more 
than  twenty  cities  in  Mexico  and  Central  America  bore  this 
name  (Le  Mythe  de  Votan,  p.  20.  Alen^on,  1871).  In  view  of 
this  it  is  amusing  to  find  Mr.  Bancroft  locate  it  so  definitely 
(Native  Races,  ii.  p.  90.)  Aztlan,  literally,  the  "White  Land,  is 
anotluT  name  of  originally  mythical  pin-port,  which  it  would  be 
equally  vain  to  seek  on  the  terrestrial  globe.  In  the  extract  in 
the  text,  the  word  translated  God  is  QcibavU,  an  old  word  for  the 
highest  god,  either  from  a  root  meaning  to  open,  to  disclose,  or 
from  one  of  similar  form  slijfnifving  to  wonder,  to  marvel  ;  liter- 
ally, therefore,  the  Revealer,  or  the  Wondrous  One  (  Vocab.  de 
la  Lenffiin  Quiche,  p.  209  :  Paris,  1862). 
^  Ximenes,  Or.  de  los  Indios,  p.  80,  Le  Livre  Sacri,  p,  195. 


Tin:  CARDINAL  POINTS. 


03 


arounc'  their  enchanted  garden  ;  the  second  was  as  a 
serpent  with  whigs,  who  proceeded  with  such  velocity 
that  ho  pierced  rocks  and  walls.  They  were  too  swift 
to  bo  seen  by  the  sharpest  eye,  and  were  one  near  as 
they  passed,  ho  was  only  aware  of  a  whisper  and  a 
rustling  like  that  of  the  wind  in  the  leaves.^ 

Wherever,  in  short,  the  lustof  gold  lured  the  early 
adventurers,  they  were  told  of  some  nation  a  littlo 
further  on,  some  wealthy  and  i)rosperous  land,  a])un- 
dant  and  fertile,  satisfying  the  desire  of  the  heart. 
It  was  sometimes  deceit,  and  it  was  sometimes  tho 
credited  fiction  of  the  earthly  paradise,  that  in  all 
ages  has  with  a  promise  of  perfect  joy  consoled  tho 
aching  heart  of  man. 

It  is  instructive  to  study  the  associations  that  natur- 
ally group  themselves  around  each  of  the  cardinal 
2)oints,  and  watch  how  these  are  mirrored  on  tho  sur- 
face of  language,  and  have  directed  the  current  of 
thought.  Jacob  Grimm  has  performed  this  task  with 
fidelity  and  beauty  as  regards  the  Aryan  race,  but 
the  means  are  wanting  to  apply  his  searching  method 
to  tho  indigenous  tongues  of  America.  Enough  if  in 
general  terms  their  mythological  value  be  deten.nned. 

When  the  day  begins,  man  wakes  from  his  slum- 
bers, faces  the  rising  sun  and  prays.  The  east  is 
before  him  ;  by  it  he  learns  all  other  directions ;  it  is 
to  him  what  the  north  is  to  the  needle ;  with  refer- 
ence to  it  he  assigns  in  his  mind  the  position  of  the 
three  other  cardinal  points.^     There  is  the  starting- 

^  Garcia,  Orirjen  de  Ion  Indios,  lib.  iv.  cap.  i.      , 
2  Compare  the  German  expression  sich  orient Iren,  to  right  cue's 
self  by  the  east,  to  miderstaud one's  surrouudings. 


>  I 


94 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


«St 


place  of  the  celestial  fires,  the  home  of  the  sun,  the 
"vvomb  of  the  morning.  It  represents  in  space  the 
beginning  of  things  in  time,  and  as  the  bright  and 
glorious  creatures  of  the  sky  come  fortli  thence,  man 
conceits  that  his  ancestors  also  in  remote  acres  wan- 
dered  from  the  orient ;  there  in  the  opinion  of  many 
in  both  tlie  old  and  new  worlds  Avas  the  cradle  of  the 
race ;  there  in  Aztec  legend  was  the  fabled  land  of 
Tlapallan,  and  the  wind  from  i  he  east  was  called  the 
wind  of  Paradise,  Thdocavitl. 

From  this  direction  came,  according  to  the  almost 
unanimous  opinion  of  the  Indian  tribes,  those  hero 
gods  who  taught  them  arts  and  religion;  thither  they 
returned,  and  from  thence  they  would  again  api)ear 
to  resume  their  ancient  sway.  As  the  dawn  brings 
light,  and  with  light  is  associated  in  every  human 
mind  the  ideas  of  knowledge,  safety,  protection, 
majesty,  divinity,  as  it  dispeh;.  the  spectres  of  night, 
as  it  defines  the  cardinal  points,  and  brings  forth  the 
sun  and  the  day,  it  occupied  the  primitive  mind  to  an 
extent  that  can  hardly  be  magnifiedbe^'ond  the  truth. 
It  is  in  fact  the  central  figure  in  most  natural  reli- 
gions. 

The  Avest,  as  the  grave  of  the  heavenly  luminaries, 
or  rather  as  their  goal  and  place  of  repose,  brings 
with  it  thoughts  of  sleep,  of  death,  of  tranciuillity,  of 
rest  from  labor.  When  the  evening  of  his  days  was 
come,  when  his  course  was  run,  and  man  had  sunk 
from  sight,  he  was  supposed  to  follow  tlie  sun  and 
find  some  spot  of  repose  for  his  tired  soul  in  the  dis- 
tant west.  Tliere,  with  general  consent,  the  tribes 
north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  supposed  the  happy 
hunting-grounds  ;  there,  taught  by  the  same  analogy, 


NA.VES  OF  THE  CARDINAL  PCINTS. 


95 


the  ancient  Arj-ans  placed  the  Nerriti,  the  exodus,  the 
hind  of  the  dead.  "  The  ohl  notion  among  us,"  said 
on  one  occa.-.ion  a  distinguished  cliief  of  the  Creek 
nation,  "  is  that  when  we  die,  the  spirit  goes  the  way 
tlie  sun  goes,  to  the  west,  and  there  joins  its  family 
and  friends  wlio  went  before  it.'  ^ 

In  the  northern  hemisphere  the  shadows  fall  to  the 
north,  thence  blow  cold  and  furious  winds,  thence 
come  the  snow  and  early  thunder.  Perhaps  all  its 
primitive  inhabitants,  of  whatever  race,  thought  it 
the  seat  of  the  mighty  gods."  A  floe  of  ice  in  the 
x\rctic  Sea  was  the  homo  of  the  guardian  spirit  of  the 
Algonkins  ;^  on  a  mountain  near  the  north  star  the 
Dakotas  thought  Ileyoka  dwelt  who  rules  the  sea- 
sons ;  and  the  realm  of  Mictla,  the  Aztec  god  of 
death,  lay  where  the  shadows  pointed.  From  that 
cheerless  abode  his  sceptre  reached  over  all  creatures, 
even  the  gods  themselves,  for  sooner  or  later  all 
must  fall  before  him.  The  great  spirit  of  the  dead, 
said  the  Ottawas,  lives  in  the  dark  north,*  and  there, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  Monquis  of  California,  resided 
their  chief  god,  Gumongo.^ 

Unfortunately  tlie  makers  of  vocabularies  have 
rarely  included  the  words  north,  south,  east,  and  west 
in  their  lists,  and  the  methods  of  exi:'ressing  these 
ideas  adopted  by  the  Indians  can  only  be  partially 
discovered.  The  east  and  west  were  usually  called 
from  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun  as  in  our  words 


i.  i 


1 


1 1 


1  Hawkins,  Slr.tch  of  Ihe  Creek  Country,  p.  80. 

2  See  Jacob  (Jriiuni,  Gexchlchte  der  Deutuchen  Sprache,  i   G81. 
^  Do  Sniet,  Oregon  IMissions,  p.  352. 

*  Bressani,  Relat.'on  Ahriuje,  p.  93. 

f*  Venegas,  Hist,  of  Qtli/omia,  i.  p.  Gl  :  London,  1759. 


|!i 


;i!' 


00 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


i 


orient  and  Occident,  but  occasionally  from  traditional 
notions.  The  MayiiS  named  the  west  the  greater, 
the  east  the  lesser  debarkation ;  believing"  that  while 
their  culture  hero  Zamna  came  from  the  east  with  a 
few  attendants,  the  mass  of  Iho  population  arrived 
from  the  opposite  direction/  The  Aztecs  spoke  of  the 
east  as  "  the  direction  of  Tlalocan,"  the  terrestrial 
paradise.  But  for  north  and  south  there  were  no 
such  natural  appellations,  and  consequently  the 
greatest  diversity  is  exhibited  in  the  plans  adopted  to 
express  them.  The  north  in  the  Caddo  tongue  is 
"  the  place  of  cold,"  in  Dakota  "  the  situation  of  the 
pines,"  in  Creek  "  the  abode  of  the  (north)  star,"  in 
Algonkin  "  the  home  of  the  soul."  in  Aztec  "  the  di- 
rection of  Mictla"  the  realm  of  death,  in  Quiche  and 
Quichua,  "  to  the  right  hand ;"  ^  while  for  the  south 
we  find  such  terms  as  in  Dakota  "  the  downward 
direction,"  in  Algonkin  "  the  place  of  warmth,"  in 
Quiche  "  to  the  left  hand,"  while  among  the  Eskimos 
who  look  in  this  direction  for  the  sun,  its  name  im- 
plies "  before  one,"  just  as  does  the  Hebrew  word 


^Cogolludo,  Hist,  (h  Yucathan,  lib.  iv.  cap.  iii. 

^  Alexander  von  Humboldt  has  asserted  that  the  Quichuashad 
other  and  very  circumstantial  terms  to  express  the  cardinal 
points  drawn  from  the  positions  of  the  sun  (Ansichten  der 
Natur,  ii.  p.  3G8).  But  the  distinguished  naturalist  overlooked 
the  literal  meaning  of  the  phrases  he  quotes  fornorth  and  south, 
intip  chaututa  chayananputa  and  intip  cluinpunchau  chamnavpala, 
literally,  the  sun  arriving  toward  the  midnight,  the  sun  arriving 
toward  the  midday.  These  are  evidently  translations  of  the 
Spanish  hncia  la  media  noche,  hacia  el  medio  dia,  fi  l-  they  could 
not  have  originated  among  a  people  under  Ox'  soutl  of  the  equa- 
torial line. 


TUE  SYMBOL  OF  THE  CROSS. 


97 


Lh, 
\ta, 

Ihe 
lid 
La- 


kedem,  which,  however,  this  more  southern  tribe 
applied  to  the  east. 

We  can  trace  the  sacredness  of  the  number  four  in 
other  curious  and  unlooked-for  developments.  Mul- 
tiplied into  the  number  of  the  fingers — the  arithmetic 
of  every  child  and  ignorant  man— or  by  adding  to- 
gether the  first  four  members  of  its  arithmetical  series 
(4+8+12-+-16),  it  gives  the  number  forty.  This  was 
taken  as  a  limit  to  tlie  sacred  dances  of  some  Indian 
tribes,  ond  by  others  as  the  highest  number  of  chants 
to  be  employed  in  exorcising  diseases.  Consequently 
it  came  to  be  fixed  as  a  limit  in  exercises  of  prepara- 
tion or  purification.  The  females  of  the  Orinoco 
tribes  fasted  forty  days  before  marriage,  and  those  of 
the  upper  Mississippi  were  held  unclean  the  same 
length  of  time  after  childbirth ;  such  was  the  term 
of  the  Prince  of  Tezcuco's  fast  when  he  Avished  an 
heir  to  his  throne,  and  such  the  number  of  days  the 
Mandans  supposed  it  required  to  wash  clean  the 
world  at  the  deluge.^ 

No  one  is  ignorant  how  widely  this  belief  was  prev- 
alent in  the  old  world,  nor  how  the  quadrigesimal 
is  stiU  a  sacred  term  with  some  denominations  of 
Christianity.  But  a  more  striking  parallelism  awaits 
us.  The  symbol  that  beyond  all  others  has  fascinated 
the  human  mind,  the  cross,  finds  here  its  source 
and  meaning.  Scholars  have  pointed  out  its  sacred- 
ness in  many  n'  tural  religions,  and  have  reverently 
accepted  it  as  a  mystery,  or  offered  scores  of  conflict- 
ing and   often  debasing  interpretations.     It  is  but 

^Catlin,  Letters  and  Notes,  i,,  Letter  22;  La  Hontan,  MJmoireSy 
ii.  p.  151 ;  Gumilla,  Hist,  del  Orinoco^  p.  159. 


'!'i      i 


i     ! 


I  i 


3!lll 


ill 

iiiii 


i: 


i^ii 


98 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER, 


another  symbol  of  the  four  cardinal  points,  the  four 
winds  of  heaven.  This  will  luminousl}''  appear  by  a 
study  of  its  use  and  meaning  in  America. 

The  Catholic  missionaries  found  it  was  no  new 
object  of  adoration  to  the  red  race,  and  were  in  doubt 
whether  to  ascribe  the  fact  to  the  pious  labors  of 
Saint  Thomas  or  the  sacrilegious  subtlety  of  Sata)i. 
It  was  the  central  object  in  the  great  temple  of  Cozu- 
mel,  and  is  still  preserved  on  the  bas-reliefs  of  the 
ruined  city  of  Palenque.  From  time  immemorial  it 
had  received  the  prayers  and  sacrifices  t)f  the  Aztecs 
and  Toltecs,  and  was  suspended  as  an  august  emblem 
from  the  walls  of  temples  in  Popoyan  and  Cundina- 
marca.  In  the  Mexican  tongue  it  bore  the  significant 
and  worthy  name  "  Tree  of  Our  Life,"  or  "  Tree  of 
our  Flesh"  (Tonacaquahuitl).  It  represented  the 
god  of  rains  and  of  health,  and  this  was  everywhere 
its  simple  meaning.  "  Those  of  Yucatan,"  say  the 
chroniclers,  "  j)rayed  to  the  cross  as  the  god  of  rains 
when  they  needed  water."  The  Aztec  goddess  of 
rains  bore  one  in  her  hand,  and  at  the  feast  celebrated 
to  her  honor  in  the  early  spring  victims  were  nailed 
to  a  cross  and  shot  with  arrows.  Quetzalcoatl, 
god  of  the  winds,  bore  as  his  sign  of  office  "  a  mace 
like  the  cross  of  a  bishop  ;  "  his  robe  was  covered  with 
them  strown  like  flowers,  and  its  adoration  was 
throughout  connected  with  liis  worship.^     When  the 


1  On  the  worship  of  the  cross  in  Mexico  and  Yucatan  and  its 
invariable  meaning  as  representing  the  gods  of  rain,  consult 
Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist,  des  ChicJiimcquei^,  p.  5;  Sahagun,  Hisf.  de  la 
Nueva  EypaHa,  lib.  i.  cap.  ii. ;  Garcia.  Or.  de  Ir.r.  Indian,  lib.  iii. 
cajK  vi.  p.  109  ;  Palacios,  Des.  de  la  Proo.  de  Guatemala,  V).  29 ; 
Cogolludo,  Hist,  de   Yucathnn,  lib.  iv-  cap.   ix  ;  Villagutierre 


THE  SYMBOL  OF  THE  CROaS. 


99 


its 
iult 
la 
n\. 
?9; 
rre 


Muyscag  would  sacrifice  to  the  goddess  of  waters 
they  extended  cords  across  the  tranquil  depths  of 
some  lake,  thus  forming  a  gigantic  cross,  and  at  their 
point  of  intersection  threw  in  their  offerings  of  gold, 
emeralds,  and  precious  oils.^  The  arms  of  the  cross 
were  designed  to  point  to  the  cardinal  points  and 
represent  the  four  winds,  the  rainbringers.  To  con- 
firm this  explanation,  let  us  have  recourse  to  the 
simpler  ceremonies  of  the  less  cultivated  tribes,  and 
see  the  transparent  meaning  of  the  symbol  as  they 
employed  it. 

When  the  rain  maker  of  the  Lenni  Lenape  would 
exert  his  power,  he  retired  to  some  secluded  spot  and 
drew  upon  the  earth  the  figure  of  a  cross  (its  arms 
toward  the  cardinal  points  ?),  placed  upon  it  a  piece 
of  tobacco,  a  gourd,  a  bit  of  some  red  stuff,  and  com- 
menced to  cry  aloud  to  the  spirits  of  the  rains.^  In 
the  Blackfoot  country  are  occasionally  found  ruins  of 
large  boulders,  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  cross. 
These,  Gen.  J.  M.  Brown  informs  me  are  attributed 
to  "  the  old  man  in  the  sun,"  Natose,  who  sends  the 
winds.  They  mark  his  resting-places,  the  limbs  of  the 
cross  representing  his  bod}  and  arms.  Gen.  Brown 
thinks  they  indicate  the  cardinal  points.  The  Creeks 
at  the  festival  of  the  Busk,  celebrated,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  the  four  winds,  and  according  to  their  legends 
instituted  by  them,  commenced  with  making  the  new 


Sotomayor,  HUt.  de  el  llzn  y  de  d  Lacandon,  lib.  iii.  cap.  8;  and 
many  others  might  be  mentioned. 

'  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  Peruvian  Antiquities,  p.  162,  after  J. 
Acosta. 

2  Loskiel,  Ges.  der  Miss,  derevang.  Briider,  p.  60. 


W 


100 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


fire.  The  manner  of  this  was  "  to  place  four  logs  in 
the  centre  of  the  square,  end  to  end,  forming  a  cross, 
the  outer  ends  pointing  to  the  cardinal  points ;  in  the 
centre  of  the  cross  the  new  fire  is  made."  ^  This  is 
the  precise  form  of  the  cross  which  was,  "  without 
any  doubt,"  affirms  Las  Casas,  an  object  of  worship 
on  the  coast  near  Cumana,  before  the  Christians 
came  there.'' 

As  the  emblem  of  the  winds  who  dispense  the 
fertilizing  showers  it  is  emphatically  the  tree  of  our 
life,  our  subsistence,  and  our  health.  It  never  had  any 
other  meaning  in  America,  and  if,  as  has  been  said, " 
the  tombs  of  the  Mexicans  were  cruciform,  it  was  per- 
haps with  reference  to  a  resurrection  and  a  future  life 
as  portrayed  under  this  symbol,  indicating  that  the 
buried  body  would  rise  by  the  action  of  the  four 


^  Hawkins,  Sketch  of  the  Creek  Country^  p.  75.  Lapham  and 
Pidgeon  mention  tliat  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin  many  low 
mounuj  are  found  in  the  form  of  a  cross  with  the  arms  directed 
to  the  cardinal  points.  They  contain  no  remains.  Were  they 
not  altars  built  to  the  Four  Winds  ?  In  the  mythology  of  the 
Dakotas,  wlio  inhabited  that  region,  the  winds  were  always 
conceived  as  birds,  and  for  the  cross  they  have  a  native  name 
literally  signifying  "the  irusquito  hawk  spread  out  "  (Riggs, 
Did.  of  the  Dakota,  s.  v.)  Its  Maya  name  is  vahom  che,  the  tree 
,  erected  or  set  up,  the  adjective  being  drawn  from  the  military 
language  and  implying  as  a  defence  or  protection,  as  the  war- 
rior lifts  his  lance  or  shield  (Landa,  lid.  de  las  Cosas  de  Yuca- 
tan, p.  65). 

2  Ilistoria  Apohgetica,  MSS.  cap.  125.  He  gives  two  figures 
of  it,  the  first,  two  equal  lines  crossed  at  right  angles  ;  the 
second,  an  oblong  parallelogram,  its  opposite  angles  united  by 
straight  lines.     The  natives  of  Cumana  were  Caribs. 

3  Squier,  The  Serpent  Symbol  in  A7nerica,  p.  98. 


THE  SYMBOL  OF  THE  CROSS. 


101 


fes 


Spirits  of  the  world,  as  the  buried  seed  takes  on  a  new 
existence  when  watered  by  the  vernal  showers. 
There  is  nothing  far-fetched  in  such  an  explanation. 
We  positively  know  that  the  Mayas  placed  the  en- 
trails of  their  dead  in  jars,  in  groups  of  four,  and  which 
were  called  bacabs  from  the  four  rain  gods.  * 

The  cross  frequently  recurs  in  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tiDn  writings,  where  it  is  interpreted  life;  doubtless, 
could  we  trace  the  hieroglyph  to  its  source,  it 
would  likewise  prove  to  be  derived  from  the  four 
winds ;  that  it  represented  the  *'  Nile  Key  "  is  now 
rarely  maintained. 

While  thus  recognizing  the  natural  origin  of  this 
consecrated  symbol,  while  discovering  that  it  is  based 
on  the  sacredness  of  numbeis,  aijdthis  in  turn  on  the 
structure  and  necessary  relations  of  the  human  body, 
thus  disowning  the  meaningless  mysticism  that  Joseph 
de  Maistre  and  his  disciples  have  advocated,  let  us  on 
the  other  hand  be  equally  on  our  guard  against 
accepting  the  material  facts  which  underlie  these 
beliefs  as  their  deepest  foundation  and  their  exhaust- 
ive explanation.  That  were  but  withered  fruit  for 
our  labors,  and  it  might  well  be  asked,  where  is  here 
the  divine  idea  said  to  be  dimly  prefigured  in  mythol- 
ogy ?  The  universal  belief  in  the  sacredness  of  num- 
bers is  an  instinctive  faith  in  an  immortal  truth. 
The  laws  of  chemical  combination,  of  the  various 
modes  of  motion,  of  all  organic  growth,  show  that 
simple  numerical  relations  govern  all  the  properties 
and  are  inherent  to  the  very  constitution  of  matter. 
In  view  of  such  facts  is  it  presumptuous  to  predict 

1  H.  de  Chareucey,  Le  Mythe  tie  Votan,  p.  39. 


102 


THE  SACRED  NUMBER. 


that  experiment  itself  will  prove  the  truth  of  Kepler's 
beautiful  saying:  "The  universe  is  a  harmonious 
whole,  the  soul  of  which  is  God ;  numbers,  figures, 
the  stars,  all  nature,  indeed,  are  in  unison  with  the 
mysteries  of  religion  ?  " 


\\ 


\ 


jr's 


•es, 
the 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

Relations  of  man  to  the  lower  animals. — Two  of  these,  the  Bikd  and  the 
Sekpent,  chosen  as  symbols  beyond  all  others.— The  Bird  throughout 
America  the  symbol  of  the  Clouds  and  Winds.— Meaning  of  certain 
species. — The  symbolic  meaning  of  the  Serpent  derived  from  its  mode 
of  locomotion,  its  poisonous  bite,  and  its  i)ower  of  charming. — Usually 
the  symbol  of  the  Lightning  and  the  Waters.— The  Rattlesnake 
the  symbolic  species  in  America. — The  war  charm. — The  Cross  of 
Palenque.— The  god  of  riches. — Both  symbols  devoid  of  moral  sig- 
nificance. ' 

THOSE  stories  which  the  Germans  call  Tliierfaheln, 
wherein  the  actors  are  different  kinds  of  brutes, 
seem  to  have  a  particular  relish  for  children  and  un- 
cultivated nations.  Who  cannot  recall  with  what 
delight  he  nourished  his  childish  fancy  on  the  pranks 
of  Reynard  the  Fox,  or  the  tragic  adventures  of 
Little  Red  Riding  Hood  and  the  Wolf?  The  ques- 
tion has  been  raised  whether  the  human  traits  thus 
ascribed  to  animals  were  at  first  taken  literally,  or 
^vere  intended  merely  as  agreeable  figures  of  speech 
for  classes  of  men.  We  cannot  doubt  but  that  the 
former  was  the  case.  Going  back  to  the  dawn  of 
civilization,  we  find  these  relations  not  as  amusing 
fictions,  but  as  myths,  embodying  religious  tenets, 
and  the  brute  heroes  held  up  as  the  ancestors  of 
mankind,  even  as  rightful  claimants  of  man's  prayers 
and  praises. 

The  effort  has  been  made  to  trace  early  faiths  to  an 


I 


104  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

animal  worship  exclusively,  but  it  has  failed,  as  such 
a  narrow  theory  must.  The  "  totems  "  employed  to 
designate  the  clans  among  the  North  American  tribes 
have  been  called  in  to  aid  the  theory.  But  it  is  now 
generally  conceded  that  the  totemic  badge  had  a 
political  or  social  rather  than  a  religious  significance. 
Nevertheless  there  are  instances,  and  manv  of 
them,  wher<  superstitious  honors  were  paid  the  lower 
animals.  TUc  Lower  Creeks,  like  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, venerated  the  alligatoi:,  and  never  destroyed 
one.^  The  jaguar  was  worshipped  by  the  Moxos, 
and  they  appointed  as  priests  those  who  had  escaped 
from  its  claws.''  Christians  as  they  are,  the  Quiches 
of  Guatemala  yet  believe  that  each  of  them  has  a 
beast  as  a  patron  and  protector.' 

Man  praying  to  the  beast  is  a  spectacle  so  humil- 
iating that  it  prompts  us  to  seek  the  explanation  of 
it  least  disparaging  to  the  dignity  of  reason.  We 
may  remember  that  as  a  hunter  the  primitive  man 
was  always  matched  against  the  wild  creatures  of  the 
woods,  so  superior  to  him  in  their  dumb  certainty 
of  instinct,  their  swift  motion,  their  muscular  force, 
their  permanent  and  sufficient  clothing.  Their  ways 
were  guided  by  a  wit  beyond  his  divination,  and 
they  gained  a  living  with  little  toil  or  trouble.  They 
did  not  mind  the  darkness  so  terrible  to  him,  but 
through  the  night  called  one  to  the  other  in  a  tongue 
whose  meaning  he  could  not  fathom,  but  which,  he 


^  B.  Roman,  Nat.  and  Civ.  Hist,  of  Florida,  p.  101. 
2  D'Orbigny,  Vllomme  Am^ricain,  ii.  p.  235. 
"  Karl  Scherzer,  Die  Indianer  von  Santa  Catalana,  Istldvacan, 
p.  11.  (Vienna,  1856).  . 


OIUUIN  OF  THE  BIRD  SYMBOL. 


106 


cloubtecl  not,  was  as  full  of  purport  as  his  own.  He 
did  not  recognize  in  himself  those  god-liko  qualities 
destined  to  endow  him  with  the  royalty  of  the  world, 
while  far  more  clearly  than  we  do  he  saw  the  sly 
and  strange  facnltics  of  his  antagonists.  They  were 
to  hira,  therefore,  not  inferiors,  l)ut  equals — even 
superiors.  He  doubted  not  that  once  upon  a  time  he 
had  possessed  their  instinct,  thoy  his  language,  but 
that  some  necromantic  spell  had  been  flung  on  them 
both  to  keep  them  asunder.  None  but  a  potent  sor- 
cerer could  break  this  charm,  but  such  an  one  could 
understand  the  chants  of  birds  and  the  howls  of 
savage  beasts,  and  on  occasion  transform  liimself  into 
one  or  another  animal,  and  course  the  forest,  the  air, 
or  the  waters,  as  he  saw  fit.  Therefore,  it  was  not 
the  beast  that  he  worshipped,  but  that  share  of  the 
omnipresent  deity  which  he  thought  he  perceived 
under  its  form.^ 

Beyond  all  others,  two  subdivisions  of  the  animal 
kingdom  have  so  riveted  the  attention  of  men  by 
their  unusual  powers,  and  enter  so  frequently  into 
the  myths  of  every  nation  of  the  globe,  that  a  right 
understanding  of  their  symbolic  value  is  an  essential 
preliminary  to  the  discussion  of  the  divine  legends. 
They  are  the  Bird  and  the  Serpent.  We  shall  not 
go  amiss  if  we  seek  the  reasons  of  their  pre-eminence 
in  the  facility  with  which  tlieir  peculiarities  offered 
sensuous  images  under  which  to  convey  the  idea  of 
divinity,  ever  present  in  the  soul  of  man,  ever  striving 
at  articulate  expression. 

1  That  these  were  the  real  views  entertained  by  the  Indians 
in  regard  to  the  brute  creation,  see  Ileckewolder,  Acc^nf  the 
Ind.  Nations,  p.  217*;  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  iii.  p.  520. 


! 


100  SYMnOLS  OF  INK  blRD  AND  THE  SKHrEi\T 

Tho  bird  has  the  inconiprehenf»ible power  of  flight; 
it  floats  ill  tho  atmosphere,  it  rides  on  the  winds,  it 
soars  toward  heaven  where  dwell  the  gods ;  its 
plumage  is  stained  with  the  hues  of  the  rainbow  and 
the  sunset;  its  song  was  man's  first  liint  of  music  ;  it 
spurns  tho  clods  that  impede  his  footsteps,  and  flies 
proudly  over  tlie  mountains  and  moors  where  he 
toils  wearily  along.  He  sees  no  more  enviable  crea- 
ture ;  he  conceives  the  gods  and  angels  must  also 
have  wings ;  and  pleases  himself  with  the  fancy  that 
he,  too,  some  day  will  shake  off  this  coil  of  clay, 
and  rise  on  pinions  to  the  heavenly  mansions.  All 
living  beings,  say  the  Eskimos,  have  the  faculty  of 
soul  (tarrak^^  but  especially  the  birds.^  As  messen- 
gers from  the  upper  world  and  interpreters  of  its 
decrees,  the  flight  and  the  note  of  birds  have  ever 
been  anxiously  observed  as  omens  of  grave  import. 
"  There  is  one  bird  especially,"  remarks  the  traveller 
Co  real,  of  the  natives  of  Brazil,  "  which  they  regard 
as  of  good  augury.  Its  mournful  chant  is  heard 
rather  by  night  than  day.  The  savages  say  it  is  sent 
by  their  deceased  friends  to  bring  them  news  from 
the  other  world,  and  to  encourage  them  against  their 
enemies."  "^  In  Peru  and  in  Mexico  there  was  a 
College  of  Augurs,  corresponding  in  purpose  to  the 
auspices  of  ancient  Rome,  who  practised  no  other 
means  of  divination  than  watching  the  course  and 
jirofessing  to  interp .  .t  the  songs  of  fowls.  So  natural 
and  so  general  is  such  a  superstition,  and  so  wide- 
spread is  the  respect  it  still  obtains  in  civilized  and 

^  'Ei'^Q^Q^  Nachrichten  von  Grdnland,  Y>.  156. 

2   Voiaffcsaux  Incks  Occidentales,  pt.  ii.  p.  203:  Amst.  1722. 


THE  WINDS  AS  lilliDS. 


107 


Christian  lands,  that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  summon 
witnesses  to  show  that  it  prevailed  universally  among 
the  red  race  also.  What  imi)rinted  it  with  redoubled 
force  on  their  imagination  was  the  common  belief 
that  birds  were  not  only  divine  nuncios,  but  the 
visible  spirits  of  their  departed  friends.  The  Pow- 
hatana  held  that  a  certain  small  wood  bird  received 
the  souls  of  their  princes  at  death,  and  they  religiously 
refrained  from  doing  it  harm;'  while  the  Aztecs 
and  various  other  nations  thought  that  all  good 
people,  as  a  reward  of  merit,  were  metamorphosed  at 
the  close  of  life  into  feathered  songsters  of  the  grove, 
and  in  this  form  jiasscd  a  certain  term  in  the  um- 
brageous bowers  of  Paradise. 

But  the  usual  meaning  of  the  bird  as  a  symbol 
looks  to  a  different  analogy — to  that  which  appears 
in  such  familiar  expressions  as  "  the  wings  of  the 
wind,"  "  the  flying  clouds."  Like  the  wind,  the  bird 
sweeps  through  the  aerial  spaces,  sings  in  the  forests, 
and  rustles  on  its  course ;  like  the  cloud,  it  floats  in 
mid-air  and  casts  its  shadow  on  the  earth ;  like  the 
lightning,  it  darts  from  heaven  to  earth  to  strike  its 
unsuspecting  prey.  These  tropes  were  truths  to 
savage  nations,  and  led  on  by  that  law  of  language 
which  forced  them  to  conceive  everything  as  animate 
or  inanimate,  itself  the  product  of  a  deeper  law  of 
thought  which  urges  us  to  ascribe  life  to  Avhatever 
has  motion,  they  found  no  animal  so  appropriate  for 
their  purpose  here  as  the  bird.  Therefore  the  Algon- 
kins  say  that  birds  always  make  the  winds,  that  they 
create  the  water  spouts,  and  that  the  clouds  are  the 


^  Beverly,  Hist,  de  la  Virginie,  liv.  iii.  chap.  viii. 


108    SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

spreading  and  agitation  of  their  wings ;  ^  the  Nava- 
jovS,  that  at  each  cardinal  jioint  stands  a  white  swan, 
who  is  the  spirit  of  the  blasts  which  blow  from  its 
dwelling ;  and  the  Dakotas,  that  in  the  Y\^est  is  the 
house  of  the  Wakinyan,  the  Flyers,  the  breezes  that 
send  the  storms.  So,  also,  they  frequently  explain.' 
the  thunder  as  the  sound  of  the  cloud-bird  flapping 
his  wings,  and  the  lightning  as  the  fire  that  flashes 
from  his  tracks,  like  the  sparks  which  the  buffalo 
scatters  when  he  scours  over  a  stony  plain.^  The 
thunder  cloud  was  also  a  bird  to  the  Caribs,  and  they 
imagined  it  produced  tlie  lightning  in  true  Carib 
fashion  by  blowing  it  through  a  hollow  reed,  just  as 
they  to  this  day  hurl  their  poisoned  darts.''  Most  of 
the  natives  of  the  Northwest  coast  explain  the  thun- 
der as  the  flapping  of  the  wings  of  a  giant  bird,  the 
lightning  as  the  flash  of  his  eya.*  Tupis,  Iroquois, 
Athapaseas,  for  certain,  perhaps  all  the  families  of  the 
red  race,  were  the  subject  pursued,  partook  of  this  per- 
suasion ;  among  them  all  it  would  probablj'-  be  found 
that  the  same  figures  of  speech  Averc  used  in  compar- 
ing clouds  and  winds  with  the  feathered  species  as 
among  us,  with  however  this  most  significant  differ- 
ence, that  whereas  among  us  they  are  figures  and 
nothing  more,  to  them  they  expressed  literal  facts. 


1  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  v.  p.  420. 

2  ]Mrs.  Eastman,  Legends  of  the  Sioux,  p.  101.  Xow  York,  1849. 
This  is  a  trustworlliy  and  meritorious  book,  -which  can  be  said  of 
very  few  collections  of  Indian  ti-aditions.  Tluy  were  collected 
during  a  residence  of  seven  years  in  our  northwestern  territories, 
and  are  usually  verbally  faithful  to  the  native  narrations. 

^  l)e  La  liorde,  Relatiun  des  C'iraibes,  p.  7.    Paris,  1074. 
*  M.  Macfie,  Vancouver  Inland  and  British  Columbia,  "p.  450. 


iM 


Llie 


jar- 
as 
er- 

xiid 


iCS, 


THE  EAGLE  AND  THE  OWL. 


109 


How  important  a  symbol  did  they  thus  become ! 
For  the  winds,  the  clouds,  producing  the  thunder  and 
the  changes  that  take  place  in  the  ever-shifting  pano- 
rama of  the  sky,  the  rain  bringers,  lords  of  the  sea- 
sons, and  not  this  only,  but  the  primary  type  of  tho 
soul,  the  life,  the  breath  of  man  and  the  world,  these  in 
their  role  in  mythology  are  second  to  nothing.  There- 
fore as  the  symbol  of  these  august  powers,  as  messen- 
ger of  the  gods,  and  as  the  embodiment  of  departed 
spirits,  no  one  will  be  surprised  if  they  find  the  bird 
figure  most  prominently  in  the  myths  of  the  red  race. 

Sometimes  some  particular  species  seems  to  have 
been  chosen  as  most  befitting  these  dignified  attri- 
butes. No  citizen  of  the  United  States  will  be 
apt  to  assert  that  their  instinct  led  the  indigenes  of 
our  territory  astray,  when  they  chose,  with  nigh 
unanimous  consent,  the  great  American  eagle  as  that 
fowl  beyond  all  others  proper  to  typify  the  supreme 
control  and  the  most  admirable  qualities.  Its  fea- 
thers composed  the  war  flag  of  the  Creeks,  and  its 
imacfcs  carved  in  wood  or  its  stuffed  sldn  surmounted 
their  council  lodges  (Bartram) ;  none  but  an  approved 
warrior  dare  Avear  it  among  the  Cherokees  (Timber- 
lake)  ;  and  the  Dakotas  allowed  such  an  honor  only 
to  him  Avho  had  first  touched  the  corpse  of  the  com- 
mon foe  (De  Smet).  The  Natchez  and  Akanzas  seem 
to  have  paid  it  even  religious  honors,  and  to  have 
installed  it  in  their  most  sacred  shrines  (Sieur  de 
Tonty,  Du  Pratz)  ;  and  very  clearly  it  Avas  not  so 
much  for  ornament  as  foi'  a  mark  of  dignit}'  and  a 
recognized  sign  of  Avortli  that  its  plumes  Avcrc  so 
highly  prized.  The  natives  of  Zuni,  in  New  ^lexico, 
employed  four  of  its  feathers  to  represent  the  four 


110   SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

winds  in  their  invocations  for  rain  (Whipple),  and 
probably  it  was  the  eagle  which  a  tribe  in  Upper 
California  (the  Acagchemem)  worshipped  under  the 
name  Panes.  Father  Geronimo  Boscana  describes  it 
as  a  species  of  vulture,  and  relates  that  one  of  them 
was  immolated  yearly,  with  solemn  ceremony,  in  the 
temple  of  each  village.  Not  a  drop  of  blood  was 
spilled,  and  the  body  was  burned.  Yet  with  an 
amount  of  faith  that  staggered  even  the  Romanist, 
the  natives  maintained  and  believed  that  it  was  the 
same  individual  bird  they  sacrificed  each  year ;  more 
than  this,  that  the  same  bird  wr.s  slain  by  each  of  the 
villages !  * 

The  owl  was  regarded  by  Aztecs,  Quiches,  Mayas, 
Peruvians,  Araucanians,  and  Algonkins  as  sacred  to 
the  lord  of  the  dead.  "  The  Owl "  was  one  of  the  names 
of  the  Mexican  Pluto,  whose  realm  was  in  the  north,'-^ 
and  the  wind  from  that  quarter  was  supposed  by  the 
Chipeways  to  be  made  by  the  ov/1  iis  the  south  by  the 
butterfly.  The  same  tribe  called  the  bridge  winch 
they  said  the  souls  of  the  departed  must  cross  to 
arrive  at  the  land  of  spirits,  the  "  Owl  Bridge." "  As 


'  Ace.  of  the  Inds.  of  California,  ch.  ix.  Eng.  trans,  by  Robin- 
son. New  York,  1847.  The  Acagchemem  were  a  branch  of  the 
Netela  tribe,  who  dwelt  near  the  mission  San  Juan  Capistrano 
(see  Busclimaan,  Spriren  der  Aztel\  Spraclie,  etc.,  p.  548). 

*  Called  in  the  Aztec  tongue  Tecolotl,  night  owl ;  literally,  the 
stone  scorpion.  The  transfer  was  mythological.  The  Clu'istians 
prefixed  to  this  word  tinea,  man,  and  thus  formed  a  nam^  for 
Satan,  which  Prescott  and  others  have  translated  "  rational 
owl."  No  such  deity  existed  in  Ancient  Anahuac  (see  Busch- 
mann,  Die  Voelker  und  Spmchen  Neu  Mexico's,  p.  2G2). 

'  Schoolcraft,  Ltd.  Tribes,  v.  p.  420.  Barraga,  Otchipwe  Diet. 
s.  V.  Kakokajogan. 


THE  SERPENT  AND  THE  DO  VE. 


Ill 


the  bird  of  night,  it  was  the  fit  emissary  of  him  who 
rules  the  darkness  of  the  grave.  Something  in  the 
looks  of  the  creature  as  it  sapiently  stares  and  blinks 
in  the  light,  or  perhaps  that  it  works  while  others 
sleep,  got  for  it  the  character  of  wisdom.  So  the 
Creek  priests  carried  with  them  as  the  badge  of  their 
learned  profession  the  stuffed  skin  of  one  of  these 
birds,  thus  modestly  hinting  their  erudite  turn  of 
mind;*  the  Arickarees,  according  to  Gen.  J.  M. 
Brown,  place  one  above  the  "medicine  stone  "in 
their  council  lodge,  and  the  culture  hero  of  the  Mon- 
quis  of  California  was  represented,  like  Pallas 
Athene,  having  one  as  his  inseparable  companion 
(Venegas). 

As  the  associate  of  the  god  of  light  and  air,  and  as 
the  antithesis  therefore  of  the  owl,  the  Aztecs  reve- 
renced a  bird  called  quetzal^  which  I  believe  is  a 
species  of  parroquet.  Its  plumage  is  of  a  bright 
green  hue,  and  was  prized  extravagantly  as  a  decora- 
tion. It  was  one  of  the  symbols  and  part  of  the 
name  of  Quetzalcoatl,  their  mythical  civilizer,  and 
the  prince  of  all  sorts  of  singing  birds,  myriads  of 
whom  were  fabled  to  accompany  him  on  his  journeys. 

The  tender  and  hallowed  associations  that  have  so 
widely  shielded  the  dove  from  harm,  which  for 
instance  Xenophon  mentions  among  the  ancient  Per- 
sians, were  not  altogether  unknown  to  the  tribes  of 
the  New  World.  Neither  the  Hurons  nor  Mandans 
would  kill  them,  for  they  believed  they  were  inliab- 


1 


^  William  Bartram,  Travels,  p.  oOl.  Columbus  found  the  na- 
tives of  the  Antilles  wearing  tunics  with  figures  of  these  birds 
embroidered  upon  them.  Prescott,  Conq.  of  Mexico,  i.  p.  58, 
notS. 


112   SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

ited  by  the  souls  of  the  departed,^  and  it  is  said,  but 
on  less  satisfactory  authority,  that  they  enjoyed  simi- 
lar immunity  among  tJie  Mexicans.  Their  soft  and 
plaintive  note  and  sober  russet  hue  widely  enlisted 
the  sympathy  of  man,  and  linked  them  with  liis  more 
tender  feelings. 

"  As  wise  as  the  serpent,  as  harmless  as  the  dove," 
is  an  antithesis  that  might  pass  current  in  any  human 
language.  They  are  the  emblems  of  complementary, 
often  contrasted  qualities.  Of  all  animals,  the  ser- 
pent is  the  most  mysterious.  No  wonder  it'possessed 
the  fancy  of  the  observant  cliikl  of  nature.  Alone 
of  creatures  it  swiftly  progresses  without  feet,  fins, 
or  wings.  "  There  be  three  things  which  are  too 
wonderful  for  me,  yea,  four  which  I  know  not,"  said 
wise  King  Solomon;  and  the  chief  of  them  were 
"  the  way  of  an  eagle  in  the  air,  the  way  of  a  serpent 
ujDon  a  rock." 

Its  sinuous  course  is  like  to  nothing  so  much  as 
that  of  a  winding  river,  which  therefore  we  often 
call  serpentine.  The  name  Serpentine  is  borne  by 
an  English  stream ;  a  river  in  British  America  is 
called  the  Serpent ;  and  in  Arcadia  the  Greeks  had  the 
Ophis.  So  with  the  Indians.  Kennebec,  a  stream  in 
Maine,  in  the  Algonkin  means  snake,  and  Antietam, 
the  creek  in  Maryland  of  tragic  celebrity,  in  an 
Iroquois  dialect  has  the  same  significance.  How 
easily  might  savages,  construing  the  figure  literally, 
make  the  serpent  a  river  or  water  god !  Many  species 
being  amphibious  would  confirm  the  idea.     A  lake 


1  Rel.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  An  1636,  ch.  ix.  Catlic,  Letters  and 
Notes,  Lett.  22. 


^■mieamia^i>)^imim<imM'ik{mim^m-!(^^M' 


THE  RATTLESNAKE. 


118 


watered  by  innumerable  tortuous  rills  wriggling  into 
it,  is  well  calculated  for  the  fabled  abode  of  the  king 
of  the  snakes.  Whether  from  this  or  not  we  may 
not  say,  but  certain  it  is  that  both  Algonkins  ana 
Iroquois  had  a  myth  that  in  the  great  lakes  dwelt  a 
monster  serpent,  of  irascible  temper,  who  unless  ap- 
peased by  meet  offerings  raised  a  tempest  or  broke  the 
ice  beneath  the  feet  of  those  venturing  on  his  domain, 
and  swallowed  them  down.* 

The  rattlesnake  was  the  species  almost  exclusively 
honored  by  the  red  race.  It  is  slow  to  attack,  but 
venomous  in  the  extreme,  and  possesses  the  power  of 
the  basilisk  to  attract  within  reach  of  its  spring  small 
birds  and  squirrels.  Probably  tliis  much  talked  of 
fascination  is  nothing  more  than  by  its  presence  near 
their  nests  to  incite  them  to  attack,  and  to  hazard 
near  and  nearer  approaches  to  their  enemy  in  hope 
to  force  him  to  retreat,  until  once  within  the  compass 
of  his  fell  swoop,  they  fall  victims  to  their  temerity. 
I  have  often  watched  a  cat  act  thus.  Whatever  ex- 
planation may  be  received,  the  fact  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned, and  is  ever  attributed  by  the  unreflecting  to 
some  diabolic  spell  cast  upon  them  by  the  animal. 
They  have  the  same  strange  susceptibility  to  the 
influence  of  certain  sounds  as  the  vipers,  in  which 
lies  the  secret  of  snake  charming.  Most  of  the  In- 
dian magicians  were  familiar  with  this  singularity. 
They  employed  it  with  telling  effect  to  put  beyond 
question  their  intercourse  with  the  unseen  powers, 

1  Fid.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  An  1648,  p.  75  ;  Cusic,  Trad.  Hist, 
of  the  Six  Natio)is,  pt.  iii.  The  latter  is  the  work  of  a  native 
Tuscarora  chief.  It  is  republished  in  Schoolcraft's  Indian 
Tribes,  but  is  of  little  value. 

8 


f 


114  SYMBOLS  GF  THE  EIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

and  to  vindicate  the  potency  of  their  own  guardian 
spirits  who  thus  enabled  them  to  handle  with  im- 
punity the  most  venomous  of  reptiles.^  The  well- 
known  antipathy  of  these  serpents  to  certain  plants, 
for  instance  the  hazel,  which  bound  around  the 
ankles  is  an  efficient  protection  against  their  attacks, 
and  perhaps  some  antidote  to  their  poison  used  by 
the  magicians,  led  to  their  frequent  introduction  in 
religious  ceremonies.  Such  exhibitions  must  have 
made  a  profound  impression  on  the  spectators,  and 
redounded  in  a  corresponding  degree  to  the  glory  of 
the  performer.  "  Who  is  a  manito  ?  "  asked  the  mystic 
meda  chant  of  the  Algonkins.  "  He,"  is  the  reply, 
^'Iie  who  walketh  with  a  serpent,  walking  on  the 
ground,  he  is  a  manito."  ^  And  the  intimate  alliance 
of  this  symbol  with  the  mysteries  of  the  Unknown,  is 
reflected  in  some  dialects  of  their  language,  and  also 
in  that  of  their  neighbors  the  Dakotas,  where  the 
same  words  mariito,  wakan,  which  express  the  concep- 
tion of  the  supernatural,  are  also  used  as  names  of 
this  species  of  animals.  This  curious  fact  is  not  with- 
out parallel,  for  in  both  Arabic  and  Hebrew    the 

^  For  example,  in  Brazil,  Muller,  Amer.  Urrelig.,  p.  277;  in 
Yucatan,  CogoUudo,  Wst.  de  Yucathan,  lib.  iv.  cap.  4;  among 
the  western  Algonkins,  Hennepin ^  Decouverte  dans  VAmer.  Sep- 
ten.  chap.  33.  Dr.  Hammond  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
North  American  Indians  enjoy  the  same  immimity  from  the 
virus  of  the  rattlesnake  that  certain  African  tribes  do  from  some 
vegetable  poisons  (^Hygiene,  p.  73).  But  his  observation  must  be 
at  fault,  for  many  travellers  mention  the  dread  these  serpents 
inspired,  and  the  frequency  of  death  from  their  bites,  e.  g.  Bel. 
Noiiv.  France,  1667,  p.  22. 

^  Narrative  of  the  Captivity  and  Adventures  of  John  Tanner^ 
p.  350. 


TEE  RATTLESNAKE. 


116 


word  for  serpent  has  many  derivatives,  meaning  to 
have  intercourse  with  demoniac  powers,  to  practise 
magic,  and  to  consult  familiar  spirits.^ 

The  pious  founder  of  the  Moravian  brotherhood, 
the  Count  of  Zinzendorf,  owed  his  life  on  one  occii- 
sion  to  this  deeply  rooted  superstition.  He  was 
visiting  a  missionary  station  among  the  Shawnees,  in 
the  Wyoming  valley.  Recent  quarrels  with  the 
whites  had  unusually  irritated  this  unruly  folk,  and 
they  resolved  to  make  him  their  first  victim.  After 
he  had  retired  to  his  secluded  hut,  several  of  their 
braves  crept  upon  him,  and  cautiously  lifting  the 
corner  of  the  lodge,  peered  in.  The  venerable  man  was 
seated  before  a  little  fire,  a  volume  of  the  Scriptures 
on  his  knees,  lost  in  the  perusal  of  the  sacred  words. 
While  they  gazed,  a  huge  rattlesnake,  unnoticed  by 
him,  trailed  across  his  feet,  and  rolled  itself  into  a 
coil  in  the  comfortable  warmth  of  the  fire.  Immediately 
the  would-be  murderers  forso^)k  their  purpose  and 
noiselessly  retired,  convinced  that  this  was  indeed  a 
man  of  God. 

A  more  unique  trait  than  any  of  these  is  its  habit 
of  casting  its  skin  every  spring,  thus  as  it  were  re- 
newing its  life.     In  temperate  latitudes  the  rattle- 

1  In  Arabic  dzann  is  serpent ;  dzanan  a  spirit,  a  soul,  or  the 
heart.  So  in  Hebrew  nachas,  serpent,  has  many  derivatives 
signifying  to  hold  intercourse  with  demons,  to  conjure,  a 
magician,  etc.  See  Noldeke  in  the  Zeitschriflfiir  Voelkerjtsychn- 
logie  und  Sprachtoissenschaft,  i.  p.  413.  The  dialects  of  the 
Algonkin  referred  to  are  the  Shawnee  and  Saukie  (Gallatin's 
Vocabularies).  In  Otoe  Waka,  or  according  to  an  earlier  vocab- 
ulary Waconrfyh  snake.  Roehrig gives  another  example  where 
the  terminal  n  of  loakan  is  dropped.  (Langticge  of  the  Dakota, 
p.  14).  In  the  Crow  dialect  of  Dakota,  m/t'jsc  snake, and  wa/t'e 
spirit,  deity,  present  similarity  (Hayden's  Vocabularies). 


\ 


116   SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

snake,  like  the  leaves  and  flowers,  retires  from  sight 
during  the  cold  season,  and  at  the  return  of  kindly- 
warmth  puts  on  a  new  and  brilliant  coat.  Its  cast-off 
skin  was  carefully  collected  by  the  savages  and 
stored  in  the  medicine  bag  as  possessing  remedial 
powers  of  high  excellence.  Itself  thus  immortal, 
they  thought  it  could  imj)art  its  vitality  to  them.  So 
when  the  mother  was  travailing  in  sore  pain,  and  the 
danger  neared  that  the  child  would  be  born  silent, 
the  attending  women  hastened  to  catch  some  serpent 
and  give  her  its  blood  to  drink.^ 

It  is  well  known  that  in  ancient  art  this  animal 
was  the  symbol  of  ^sculapius,  and  to  this  day,  Pro- 
fessor Agassiz  foun'l  that  the  Maues  Indians,  who 
live  between  the  upper  Tapajos  and  Madeira  Rivers 
in  Brazil,  whenever  they  assign  a  form  to  any 
"  remedio,"  give  it  that  of  a  serpent.^ 

Probably  this  notion  that  it  was  annually  rejuven- 
ated led  to  its  adoption  as  a  symbol  of:  Time  among 
the  Aztecs ;  or,  perchance,  as  they  reckoned  by  suns, 
and  the  figure  of  the  sun,  a  circle,  corresponds  to 
nothing  animate  but  a  serpent  with  its  tail  in  its 
mouth,  eating  itself,  as  it  were,  this  may  have  been 
its  origin.  Either  of  them  is  more  likely  than  that 
the  symbol  arose  from  the  recondite  reflection  that 
time  is  "  never  ending,  still  beginning,  still  creating, 
still  destroying,"  as  has  been  suggested. 

Only,  however,  within  the  last  few  years  has  the 
significance  of  the  serpent  symbol  in  its  length  and 
breadth  been  satisfactorily  explained,  and  its  fre- 
quent  recurrence   accounted  for.     By  a   searching 

^  Alexander  Henry,  Travels,  p.  117. 

2  Bost.  Med.  and  Surg.  Journal,  vol.  76,  p.  21. 


IMH 


THE  LIGHTNING  SERPENT. 


117 


analysis  of  Greek  and  German  mythology,  Dr. 
Schwarz,  of  Berlin,  has  shown  that  the  meaning 
which  is  paramount  to  all  others  in  this  emblem  is 
the  liglitninf/ ;  a  meaning  drawn  from  the  close 
analogy  which  the  serpent  in  its  motion,  its  quick 
spring,  and  mortal  bite,  has  to  the  zigzag  course,  the 
rapid  flash,  and  sudden  stroke  of  the  electric  dis- 
charge. He  even  goes  so  far  as  to  imagine  that  by 
this  resemblance  the  serpent  first  acquired  the  vener- 
ation of  men.  But  this  is  an  extravagance  not  sup- 
ported by  more  thorough  research.  He  has  further 
shown  with  great  aptness  of  illustration  how,  by  its 
dread  effects,  the  lightning,  the  heavenly  serpent, 
became  the  god  of  terror  and  the  opponent  of  such 
heroes  as  Beowulf,  St.  George,  Thor,  Perseus,  and 
others,  mythical  representations  of  the  fearful  wai  of 
the  elements  in  the  thunder  storm ;  how  from  its 
connection  with  the  advancing  summer  and  fertiliz- 
ing showers  it  bore  the  opposite  character  of  tho 
deity  of  fruitfulness,  riches,  and  plenty;  how,  as 
occasionally  kindling  the  woods  where  it  strikes,  it 
was  associated  with  the  myths  of  the  descent  of  fire 
from  heaven,  and  as  in  popular  imagination  where  it 
falls  it  scatters  the  thunderbolts  in  all  directions,  the 
flint-stones  which  flash  when  struck  were  supposed 
to  be  these  fragm  uts,  and  gave  rise  to  the  stone 
worship  so  frequent  in  the  old  world;  and  how, 
finally,  the  prevalent  myth  of  a  king  of  serpents 
crowned  Avith  a  glittering  stone  or  wearing  a  horn  is 
but  another  type  of  the  lightning.^     Without  accept- 


I 


1  Schwarz,  Der  Ursprung  der  Mythologie  dargehgl  an  Grieck' 
ischer  und  Dculscher  Sage :  Berlin,  1860,  passim. 


118  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT 

ing  unreservedly  all  these  conclusions,  I  shall  show 
how  correct  they  are  in  the  main  when  applied  to 
the  myths  of  the  New  World,  and  thereby  illustrate 
how  the  red  race  is  of  one  blood  and  one  faith  with 
our  own  remote  ancestors  in  heathen  Europe  and 
Central  Asia. 

It  asks  no  elaborate  effort  of  the  imagination  to 
liken  the  lightning  to  a  serpent.  It  does  not  require 
any  remarkable  acuteness  to  guess  the  conundrum 
of  Schiller : — 

"  Unter  alien  Schlangen  ist  eine 

Auf  Erden  nicht  gezeugt, 
Mit  der  an  Schnelle  keine, 
An  Wuth  sich  keine  vergleicht." 

When  Father  Buteux  was  a  missionary  among  the 
Algonkins,  in  1637,  he  asked  them  their  opinion  of 
the  nature  of  lightning.  "  It  is  an  immense  jerpent," 
they  replied,  "  which  the  Manito  is  vomiting  forth ; 
you  can  see  the  twists  and  folds  that  he  leaves  on  the 
trees  which  he  strikes ;  and  underneath  such  trees 
we  have  often  found  huge  snakes."  "  Here  is  a  novel 
philosophy  for  you  ! "  exclaims  the  Father.*  So  the 
Shawnees  called  the  thunder  "the  hissing  of  the 
great  snake  ;  "  ^  and  Tlaloc,  the  Toltec  thunder  god, 
held  in  his  hand  a  serpent  of  gold  to  represent  the 

^  Rel  de  la  Nouv.  France :  An  1637,  p.  53.  Later  versions 
of  this  belief  are  given  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Jones,  Hist,  of  the  Ojeb- 
way  Indians,  pp.  8G,  87  ;  in  theua  the  thunder  bird  eats  the 
serpento. 

2  Sagen  der  Nord-Amer.  Indianer,  p.  21.  This  is  a  Ger- 
man translation  of  part  of  Jones's  Legends  of  the  N.  Am.  Inds. : 
London,  1820.  Their  value  as  mythological  material  is  very 
small. 


THE  LIGHTNING  SERPENT. 


119 


lightning.^  For  this  reason  the  Caribs  spoke  of  the 
god  of  the  thunder  storm  as  a  great  serpent  dwelling 
in  the  fruit  forests,"  and  in  the  Quiche  legends  other 
names  for  Hurakan,  the  hurricane  or  thunder-storm, 
are  the  Strong  Serpent,  He  who  hurls  below,  refer- 
ring to  the  lightning.* 

Among  the  Ilurons,  in  1G48,  the  Jesuits  found  a 
legend  current  that  there  existed  somewhere  a  mon- 
ster serpent  called  Onniont,  who  wore  on  his  head  a 
horn  that  pierced  rocks,  trees,  hills,  in  short,  every- 
thing he  encountered.     Whoever  could  get  a  piece  of 
this  horn  was  a  fortunate  man,  for  it  was  a  sovereign 
charm  and  bringer  of  good  luck.     The  Hurons  con- 
fessed that  none  of  them  had  had  the  good  hap  to  find 
the  monster  and  break  his  horn,  nor  indeed  had  they 
any  idea  of  his  whereabouts ;  but  their  neighbors, 
the  Algonkins,  furnished  them  at  times  small   frag- 
ments for  a  large  consideration.*     Clearly  the  myth 
had  been  taught  them  for  venal  purposes  by  their 
trafficking  visitors.     Now  among  the  Algonkins,  the 
Shawnee  tribe  did  more  than  all  others  combined  to 
introduce  and   carry   about   religious   legends   and 
ceremonies.     From  the  earliest  times  they  seem  to 
have  had  peculiar  aptitude  for  the  ecstasies,  deceits, 
and  fancies  that  made  up  the  spiritual  life  of  their 
associates.  Their  constantly  roving  life  brought  them 
in  contact  with  the  myths  of  many  nations.     And  it 
is  extremely  probable  that  they  first  brought  the  tale 
of  the  horned  serpent  from  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees. 

^  Torquemacla,  Mnnnrquia  Indhnn,  lib.  vi.  cap.  37. 

2  D^  Ij^  Bordo,  Relation  des  Caraibes,  p.  7. 

^  Le  Livre  Sacr^  dea  Quich/s,  p.  3. 

*  Rel.  (le  la  Nouv.  France,  1G48,  p.  75. 


120    SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

It  figured  extensively  in  the  legends  of  both  these 
tribes. 

The  latter  related  that  once  upon  a  time  among 
the  glens  of  their  mountains  dwelt  the  prince  of 
rattlesnakes.  Obedient  subjects  guarded  his  lalace, 
and  on  his  head  glittered  in  place  of  a  crown  a  gem 
of  marvellous  magic  virtues.  Many  warriors  and 
magicians  tried  to  get  possession  of  this  precious  talis- 
man, but  were  destroyed  by  the  poisoned  fangs  of  its 
defenders.  Finally,  one  more  inventive  than  the  rest 
hit  upon  the  bright  idea  of  encasing  himself  in  leather, 
and  by  this  device  marched  unharmed  through  the 
hissing  and  snapping  court,  tore  off  the  sinning  jewel, 
and  bore  it  in  triumph  to  his  nation.  They  preserved 
it  with  religious  care,  brought  it  forth  on  state  occa- 
sions with  solemn  ceremony,  and  about  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  when  Captain  Timberlake  i)ene- 
trated  to  their  towns,  told  him  its  origin.^ 

The  charm  which  the  Creeks  presented  their  young 
men  when  they  set  out  on  the  war  path  was  of  very 
similar  character.  It  was  composed  of  the  bones  of 
the  panther  and  the  horn  of  the  fabulous  horned 
snake.  According  to  a  legend  taken  down  by  an 
unimpeachable  authority  toward  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  the  great  snake  dwelt  in  the  waters ;  the  old 
people  went  to  the  brink  and  sang  the  sacred  songs. 
The  monster  rose  to  the  surface.  The  sages  recom- 
menced the  mystic  chants.  He  rose  a  little  out  of 
the  water.  Again  they  repeated  the  songs.  This 
time  he  showed  his  horns  and  they  cut  one  off.     Still 

^  Memnim  of  Lieut.  Hcnrj/  Timhrrlnk-c,  \).  48.  London,  1705. 
This  little  book  p^ives  an  account  ol"  the  Cherokees  at  an  earlier 
date  than  is  elsewhere  found. 


THE  SKltPEXT  KTSd. 


I'il 


a  fourth  time  did  they  ning,  and  is  ho  rose  to  listen 
cut  off  the  remuinino:  horn.  A  fiiii'iuent  of  these  in 
the  ''  war  phytic  "  protected  from  inimical  arrows 
and  gave  success  in  the  conflict.* 

IJut  we  must  not  bo  hasty  in  assigning  historical 
grounds  for  tlie  prevalence  of  this  myth.  It  recin-s 
where  no  such  can  be  imagined,  proving  that  it  is  a 
creation  of  the  fancy,  produced  by  similar  associations 
of  ideas.  In  the  central  region  of  the  volcanic 
island  of  Dominica  is  a  deep  vale,  wherein,  alleged 
the  Carib  natives,  dwelt  a  monstrous  serpent;  "  upon 
its  head  is  a  very  sparkling  stone,  like  a  carbuncle, 
which  is  commonly  covered  Avilh  a  thin  moving 
skin,  like  a  man's  eyelid ;  but  when  he  drank  and 
sported  himself  in  that  deep  bottom,  it  was  plainly 
discovered,  the  rocks  about  the  place  receiving  a 
wondrous  lustre  from  the  fire  issuing  out  of  that 
precious  crown."  "^  This  was  probably  the  great  ser- 
pent Racumon,  brother  of  Savacon,  the  elemental 
bird  who,  according  to  I)e  La  Borde,  these  islanders 
believed  to  be  lord  of  the  hurricane  and  maker  of 
the  winds.^ 

In  these  myths,  which  attribute  good  fortune  to  the 
horn  of  the  snake,  that  horn  which  pierces  trees  and 
rocks,  which  rises  from  the  waters,  which  glitters  as  a 
gem,  which  descends  from  the  ravines  of  the  moun- 
tains, we  shall  not  overstep  the  bounds  of  prudent  rea- 
soning if  we  see  the  thunderbolt,  sign  of  the  fructify- 
ing rain,  symbol  of  the  strength  of  the  lightning,  horn 

1  Hawkins,  S/cetch  of  the  Creek  Countnj,  p,  SO. 

2  Blomes,    State  of  Ilk  Majestic^ s  Territories  in  America,  p. 
73.    London,  1087. 

3  Relation  ties  Caraibcs,  p.  7.     Paris,  1G74. 


ill 


122   SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

of  the  heavenly  serpent.  They  are  strictly  meteoro- 
logical in  their  meaning.  And  when  in  later  Algon- 
kin  tradition  the  hero  Alichabo  appears  in  conflict  with 
the  shining  prince  of  serpents  who  lives  in  the  lake 
and  floods  the  earth  with  its  waters,  and  destroys  the 
reptile  with  a  dart,  and  further  when  the  conqueror 
cloth 3S  himself  with  the  skin  of  his  foe  and  drives 
the  rest  of  the  serpents  to  the  south  where  in  that 
latitude  the  lightnings  are  last  seen  in  the  autumn  ;^ 
or  when  in  the  traditional  history  of  the  Iroquois  we 
hear  of  another  great  horned  serpent  rising  out  of  the 
lake  and  preying  upon  the  people  until  a  similar  hero- 
god  destroys  it  with  a  thunderbolt,'"^  we  cannot  be 
wrong  in  rejecting  any  historical  or  ethical  interpre- 
tation, and  in  construing  them  as  allegories  which 
at  first  represented  the  atmospheric  changes  which 
accompany  the  advancing  seasons  and  the  ripen- 
ing harvests.  They  are  narratives  conveying  under 
agreeable  personifications  the  tidings  of  that  unending 
combat  which  the  Dakotas  said  is  ever  waged  with 
varjdng  fortunes  by  Unktaho  against  Wauhkeon,  the 
God  of  Waters  against  the  Thunder  Bird.^  They  are 
the  same  stories  which  in  the  old  world  have  been  elab- 
orated into  the  struggles  of  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman, 

1  Schoolcraft,  Ahi'ic  Researches,  i.  p.  179  sq.  ;  compare  ii.  p. 
117. 

2  Morgan,  League  of  the  Iroquois,  p.  159  ;  Cusic,  Tm<l.  Hist, 
of  the  Six  Nations,  ])t.  ii. 

8  Mrs.  Eastman,  Legends  of  the  Sioux,  pp.  IGl,  212.  In  this 
explanation  I  depart  from  Prof.  Schwarz,  vlio  has  collected 
various  legends  almost  identical  with  these  of  the  Indians  (with 
which  lie  was  not  acquainted),  and  interpreted  the  precious 
crown  or  horn  to  be  tlie  summer  sun,  brought  forth  by  the  early 
vernal  lightnin;^.     Ursprunn  tier  Mythologic,  p.  27,  note. 


tmm 


THE  WAR  PHYSIC. 


128 


of  Thor  and  Midgard,  of  St  George  and  the  Dragon, 
and  a  thousand  others. 

Yet  it  were  but  a  narrow  theory  of  natural  religion 
that  allowed  no  other  meaning  to  these  myths.  Many 
another  elemental  warfare  is  being  waged  around  us, 
and  applications  as  various  as  nature  herself  lie  in 
these  primitive  creations  of  the  human  fancy  Let 
it  only  be  remembered  that  there  was  never  any  moral, 
never  any  historical  purport  in  them  in  the  infancy 
of  religious  life. 

In  snake  charming  as  a  proof  of  proficiency  in 
magic,  and  in  the  symbol  of  the  lightning,  which 
brings  both  fire  and  water,  M^iich  in  its  might  con- 
trols victory  in  war,  and  in  its  frequency  plenteous 
crops  at  home,  lies  the  secret  of  the  serpent  symbol. 
As  the  "  war  physic  "  among  the  tribes  of  the  United 
States  wa-  a  fragment  of  a  serpent,  and  as  thus  sig- 
nifying his  incomparable  skill  in  war  the  Iroquois 
represent  their  mythical  king  Atatarho  clothed  in  noth- 
ing but  black  snakes,  so  that  when  he  wished  to  don  a 
new  suit  he  simply  drove  away  one  set  and  ordered  an- 
other to  take  their  places,  ^  so,  by  a  precisely  similar 
mental  process,  the  myth  of  the  Nahuas  assigns  as  a 
mother  to  their  war  god  Iluitzilopochtli,  Coatlicue, 
the  robe  of  serpents ;  her  dwelling  place  Coatepec, 
the  hill  of  serpents  ;  and  at  her  lying-in  say  that  she 
brought  forth  a  serpent.  Her  son's  image  was  sur- 
rounded by  serpents,  his  sceptre  was  in  the  shape  of 
one,  his  great  drum  was  of  serpents'  skins,  and  his 
statue  rested  on  four  vermiform  caryatides. 

As  the  symbol  of  the  fertilizing  summer  showers 


^  Cusic,  u.  s.,  pt.  ii. 


\ 


124    SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

tliG  liglitning  serpent  was  the  god  of  fruitfulness. 
Born  in  the  atmospheric  waters,  it  was  an  appropriate 
attribute  of  the  ruler  of  the  winds.  But  we  have 
already  seen  that  the  winds  were  often  spoken  of  as 
great  birds.  Hence  the  union  of  these  two  emblems 
in  such  names  as  Quetzalcoatl,  Gucumatz,  Kukulkan, 
all  titles  of  the  god  of  the  air  in  the  languages  of 
Central  America,  all  signifying  the  "  Bird-serpent." 
Here  also  we  see  the  solution  of  that  monument 
which  has  so  puzzled  American  antiquaries,  the  cross 
at  Palenque.  It  is  a  tablet  on  the  wall  of  an  altar 
representing  a  cross  surmounted  by  a  bird,  its 
lateral  arms  terminating  in  profJes  of  the  rattle- 
snake head.  The  descending  arm  rests  upon  a 
skull,  possibly  that  of  a  serpent,  but  more  probably 
human.  The  cross  I  have  previously  shown  was  the 
symbol  of  the  four  winds,  and  the  bird  and  serpent 
are  simply  the  rebus  of  the  air  god,  their  ruler.^  Quet- 
zalcoatl, called  also  Yolcuat,  the  rattlesnake,  was 
no  less  intimately  associated  with  serpents  than  with 
birds.  The  entrance  to  his  temple  at  Mexico  re- 
presented the  jaws  of  one  of  these  reptiles,  and  he 
finally  disappeared  in  the  province  of  Coatzacoalco, 
the  hiding-place  of  the  serpent,  sailing  towards  the 

^  This  remarkable  relic  has  been  the  subject  of  a  long  and 
able  article  in  the  Revue  Amcricaine  (torn.  ii.  p.  09),  by  the  ven- 
erable traveller  De  WalJock.  Lilce  myself— and  I  had  not  seen 
his  opinion  until  after  the  above  was  written — he  explains  the 
cruciform  design  as  indicating  the  four  cardinal  points,  but  of- 
fers t'le  explanation  merely  as  a  suggestion,  and  without  refer- 
ring to  these  symbols  as  they  appear  in  so  many  other  connections. 
See  also,  Allen,  Analysis  of  the  Life  Form  in  Art,  pp.  37  (fig.  85) 
and  07. 


Ha 


THE  GOD  OF  RICHES. 


125 


east  in  a  bark  of  serpents'  skins.     All  this  refers  to 
his  power  over  the  lightning  serpent. 

He  was  also  said  to  be  the  god  of  riches  and  the 
patron   consequently   of  merchants.     For  with  the 
summer  lightning  come  the  harvest  and  the  ripening 
fruits,  come  riches  and  traffic.     Moreover  "  the  golden 
color  of  the  liquid  fire,"  as  Lucretius  expresses  it, 
naturally  led  where  this  metal  was  known,  to  its  be- 
ing deemed  the  product  of  the  lightning.     Thus  orig- 
inated many  of  those  tales  of  a  dragon  who  watches 
a  treasure  in  the  earth,  and  of  a  serpent  who  is  the 
dispenser  of  riches,  such  as  w€re  found  among  the 
Greeks  and  ancient  Germans.^     So  it  was  in  Peru 
where  the  god  of  riches  was  worshipped  under  the 
image  of  a  rattlesnake  horned  and  hairy,  with  a  tail 
of  gold.     Ifc  was  said  to  have  descended  from  the 
heavens  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people,  and  to  have 
been  seen  by  the  whole  army  of  the  Inca."^    Whether 
it  was  in  reference  to  it,  or  as  emblems  of  their  prow- 
ess, that  the  Incas  themselves  chose  as  their  arms 
two  serpents  with  their  tails  interlaced,  is  uncertain ; 
possibly  one  for  each  of  these  significations. 

Because  the  ;it11osnake,  the  lightning  serpent,  is 
thus  connected  w i'  "i  the  food  of  man,  and  itself  seems 
never  to  die  but  an  tually  to  renew  its  youth,  the 
Algonkins  called  it  "grandfather"  and  "king  of 
snakes;"  they  feared  to  injure  it;  they  believed  it 

1  Schwavz,  Ursprung  der  Mi/thologie,  pp.  62  sqq. 

2  "  I  have  examined  many  Indians  in  reference  to  these  de- 
tails," says  the  narrator,  an  Augustin  monk  writing  in  1554, 
♦'  and  they  have  all  confirmed  tliem  as  eye-witnesses  "  (Lettre  sur 
les  Superstitions  du  P^rou,  p.  106,  ed.  Ternaux-Compans .  This 
document  is  very  valuable). 


i  I 


i     ■  '  ' 


W 


126    SYMBOLS  OF  THE  BIRD  AND  THE  SERPENT. 

could  grant  prosperous  breezes,  or  raise  disastrous 
tempests ;  crowned  with  the  lunar  crescent  it  was  the 
constant  symbol  of  life  in  their  picture  writing ;  and 
in  the  meda  signs  the  mythical  grandmother  of  man- 
kind me  suk  kum  me  go  kwa  was  indifferently  repre- 
sented by  an  old  woman  or  a  serpent.^  For  like 
reasons  Cihuacoatl,  the  Serpent  Woman,  in  the 
myths  of  the  Nahuas  was  also  called  Tonantzin,  our 
mother.^ 

The  prominence  of  the  rattlesnake  as  a  peculiarly 
American  symbol  indicated  by  these  references  lias 
received  most  ingenious  and  abundant  illustration 
from  indigenous  art  through  the  studies  of  Di*.  Harri- 
son Allen.  Commencing  with  the  suggestive  remark 
that  the  serpent  is  the  "only  animal  facile  to  the 
purposes  of  tlie  pattern  maker,"  he  has  traced  its  vari- 
ant forms  in  the  picture  writing,  the  phonetic  signs 
and  the  architectural  ornaments  of  the  red  race,  and 
shown  the  remarkable  preference  they  had  for  the 
line  representing  the  profile  of  the  head  of  the  rattle- 
snake, to  the  radical  of  which  he  has  applied  the  term 
"  the  Crotalean  curve." ' 

The  serpent  symbol  in  America  has,  however,  met 
with  frequent  misinterpretation.  It  had  such  an 
ominous  significance  in  Christian  art,  and  one  which 
chimed  so  well  with  the  favorite  proverb  of  the 
early  missionaries  —  "  the  gods  of  the  heathens 
are  devils" — that  wherever  they  saw  a  carving  or 
picture  of  a  serpent  they  at    once    recognized    the 

'  Narrative  of  John  Tanner,  p.  355;  Henry,  Travels,  p.  176. 

'  Torquemada,  Monarquia  Indiana,  lib.  vi.  cap.  31. 

» An  Analysis  of  "  The  Life  Form  in  Art."    Phila.,  1875. 


T 


A 


J. 


1 


Ju 


MEANING  OF  THE  SERPENT  SYMBOL.  127 

sign  manual  of  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  and  inscribed 
the  fact  in  their  note-books  as  proof  positive  of  their 
cherished  theory.  After  going  over  the  whole  ground, 
I  am  convinced  that  none  of  the  tribes  of  the  red  race 
attached  to  this  symbol  any  ethical  significance  what- 
ever, and  that  as  employed  to  express  atmospheric 
phenomena,  and  the  recognition  of  divinity  in  natural 
occurrences,  it  far  more  frequently  typified  what  was 
favorable  and  agreeable  than  the  reverse. 


1 II 

,    is 


\ 


l.l 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  MYTHS   OF   WATER,   FIRE,   AND   THE   THUNDER- 
STORM, AND  THE  RELIGION  OF  SEX. 

Water  the  oldest  element.— Its  use  in  purification,— Holy  ■water.— The 
Rite  of  Baptism.— The  Water  of  Life.— Its  symbols.— The  Vase.— The 
Moon.— The  latter  the  goddess  of  love  and  agriculture,  but  also  of 
sickness,  night,  and  jmin.— Often  represented  by  a  dog. — Fire  worship 
under  the  J(orm  of  Siui  worship. — The  perpetual  fire.— The  new  fire. — 
Burning  the  dead.— The  worship  of  the  papsions.— The  religion  of 
Sex  in  America. — Synthesis  of  the  worship  of  Fire,  Water,  and  the 
Winds  in  the  Thundek-storm,  personified  as  Haokah,  Tiiim,  Catequil, 
Contici,  Heno,  Tlaloc,  Mixcoatl,  and  other  deities,  many  of  them 
triune. 

THE  primitive  man  was  a  brute  in  everything  but 
the  susceptibility  to  culture  ;  the  chief  market 
of  his  time  was  to  sleep,  fight,  and  feed  ;  his  bodily 
comfort  alone  had  any  importance  in  his  eyes;  and 
his  gods  were  nothing,  unless  they  touched  him  here. 
Cold,  hunger,  thirst,  these  were  the  hounds  that 
were  ever  on  his  track ;  these  were  the  fell  powers 
he  saw  constantly  snatching  away  his  fellows,  con- 
stantly aiming  their  invisible  shafts  at  himself.  Fire, 
food,  and  water  Avere  the  gods  that  fought  on  his  side  ; 
they  were  the  chief  figures  in  his  pantheon,  his  kind- 
liest, perhaps  his  earliest,  divinities. 

With  a  nearly  unanimous  voice  mythologies  assign 
the  priority  to  water.  It  was  the  first  of  all  things, 
the  parent  of  all  things.  Even  '^he  gods  themselves 
were  born  of  water,  said  the  Greeks  and  the  Aztecs. 


t 


■^r 


THE  PRIMITIVE  ELEMENT. 


129 


■f 


\ 


Cosmogonies  reach  no  further  tlian  the  primeval 
ocean  that  rolled  its  shoreless  waves  through  a  time- 
less night. 

"  Omnia  pontus  erant,  deerant  quoque  litora  ponto." 

Earth,  sun,  stars,  lay  concealed  in  its  fathomless 
abysses.  "All  of  us,"  ran  the  Mexican  baptismal 
formula,  "  are  children  of  Chalchihuitlycue,  Goddess 
of  Water,"  and  the  like  was  said  by  the  Peruvians 
of  Mama  Cocha,  by  the  Botocudos  of  Taru,  by  the 
natives  of  Darien  of  Dobayba,  by  the  Iroquois  of 
Ataensic — all  of  them  mothers  of  mankind,  all  per- 
sonifications of  water. 

How  account  for  such  unanimity?  Not  by  sup- 
posing some  ancient  intercourse  between  remote 
trib?s,  but  by  the  uses  of  water  as  the  originator  and 
supporter,  the  essential  prerequisite  of  life.  Leaving 
aside  the  analogy  presented  by  the  motherly  waters 
which  nourish  the  unborn  child,  nor  emphasizing  how 
indispensable  it  is  as  a  beverage,  the  many  offices  this 
element  performs  in  nature  lead  easily  to  the  supposi- 
tion that  it  must  have  preceded  all  else.  By  quench- 
ing thirst,  it  quickens  life ;  as  the  dew  and  the  rain 
it  feeds  the  plant,  and  when  withheld  the  seed 
perishes  in  the  ground,  and  forests  and  flowers  aliLe 
wither  away;  as  the  fountain,  the  river,  and  the  lake, 
it  enriches  the  valley,  offers  safe  retreats,  and  provides 
store  of  fishes ;  as  the  ocean,  it  presents  the  most 
fitting  type  of  the  infinite.  It  cleanses,  it  purifies ; 
it  produces,  it  preserves.  "  Bodies,  unless  dissolved, 
cannot  act,"  is  a  maxim  of  the  earliest  chemistry. 
Very  plausibly,  therefore,  was  it  r^ssumed  as  the 
source  of  all  things. 

The  adoration  of  streams,  springs,  and  lakes,  or 

9 


^  vn 


ft 


130  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

rather  of  the  spirits  their  rulers,  prevailed  every- 
where; sometimes  avowedly  because  they  provided 
food,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Moxos,  who  called 
themselves  children  of  the  lake  or  river  on  which 
their  village  was,  and  were  afraid  to  migrate  lest  their 
parent  should  be  vexed ;  ^  sometimes  because  they 
were  the  means  of  irrigation,  as  in  Peru,  or  on  more 
general  mythical  grounds.  A  grove  by  a  fountain  is 
in  all  nature  worship  the  ready-made  shrine  of  the 
sylphs  who  live  in  its  limpid  waves  and  chatter  mys- 
teriously in  its  shallows.  On  such  a  spot  in  our  Gulf 
States  one  rarely  fails  to  find  the  sacrificial  mound  of 
the  ancient  inhabitants,  and  on  such  the  natives  of 
Central  America  were  wont  to  erect  their  altars 
(Ximenes).  Lakes  are  the  natural  centres  of  civiliza- 
tion. Like  the  lacustrine  villages  which  the  Swiss 
erected  in  ante-historic  times,  like  ancient  Venice,  the 
city  of  Mexico  was  first  built  on  piles  in  a  lake,  and 
for  the  same  reason — protection  from  attack.  Security 
once  obtained,  growth  and  iD0\\'5r  followed.  Thus  we 
can  trace  the  earliest  rays  of  Aztec  civilization  rising 
from  lake  Tezcuco,  of  the  Peruvian  from  Lake  Titi- 
caca,  of  the  Muysca  from  Lake  Guatavita.  These 
are  the  centres  of  legendary  cycles.  Their  waters 
were  hallowed  by  venerable  reminiscences.  From 
the  depths  of  Titicaca  rose  Viracocha,  mythical 
civilizer  of  Peru.  Guatavita  was  the  bourne  of  many 
a  foot-sore  pilgrim  in  the  ancient  empire  of  the  Zac. 
Once  a  j^ear  the  high  priest  poured  the  collective 
offeriiiiiS  of  the  multitude  into  its  waves,  and  anointed 
with  oils  and  glittering  with  gold  dust,  dived  deep  in 


^ 


*  A.  D'Orbigny,  UHomme  AmMcain,  i.  p.  240. 


HOLY  WATER 


181 


its  midst,  professing  to  hold  communion  with  the 
goddess  who  there  had  her  honie.^ 

Not  only  does  the  life  of  man  depend  on  water, 
but  his  well-being  also.  As  an  ablution  it  invigo- 
rates him  bodily  and  mentally.  No  institution  was 
in  higher  honor  among  the  North  American  Indians 
than  the  sweat-bath  followed  by  the  cold  douche.  It 
was  popular  not  only  as  a  remedy  in  every  and  any 
disease,  but  as  a  preliminary  to  a  council  or  an  im- 
portant transaction.  Its  real  value  in  cold  climates 
is  proven  by  the  sustained  fondness  for  the  Russian 
bath  in  the  north  of  Europe.  The  Indians,  however, 
with  their  usual  superstition  attributed  its  good 
effects  to  some  mj^sterious  healing  power  in  water 
itself.  Therefore,  when  the  patient  was  not  able  to 
undergo  the  usual  process,  or  when  his  medical  at- 
tendant was  above  the  vulgar  and  routine  practice 
of  his  profession,  it  was  administered  on  the  infini- 
tesimal system.  The  quack  muttered  a  formula  over 
a  gourd  filled  from  a  neighboring  spring  and  sprinkled 
it  on  his  patient,  or  washed  the  diseased  part,  or 
sucked  out  the  evil  spirit  and  blew  it  into  a  bowl  of 
water,  and  then  scattered  the  liquid  on  the  fire  or 
earth.  ^  At  appointed  seasons  the  Tupi  priests  as- 
sembled the  people,  filled  large  jars  with  water,  spoke 
certain  words  over  them,  and  dipping  in  palm  branches 
sprinkled  their  hearers." 


■ 


1  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  Peruvian  Antiquities,  162,  after  J. 
Acosta. 

^  JiTarrative  of  Oceola  Nikkanoclie,  Prince  of  Econchatti,  p. 
141  ;  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  iv.  p.  GoO. 

^  Le  P^re  Ives  d'Evreux,  Hisloire  de  Maragnan,  p.  306. 


182  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  TIIDSDER-STORM. 

The  use  of  such  "  holy  water "  astonished  the 
Romanist  missionaries,  and  they  at  once  detected 
Satan  parodying  the  Scriptures.  But  their  astonish- 
ment rose  to  horror  wlien  they  discovered  among 
various  nations  a  rite  of  baptism  of  appalling  simi- 
larity to  their  own,  connected  with  the  imposing  of 
a  name,  done  avowedly  for  the  jnirpose  of  freeing 
from  inherent  sin,  believed  to  produce  a  regeneration 
of  the  spiritual  nature,  nay,  in  more  than  one  in- 
stance called  by  an  indigenous  word  signifying  "  to 
be  born  again."  ^  Such  a  rite  was  of  immemorial 
antiquity  among  the  Cherokees,  Aztecs,  Mayas,  and 
Peruvians.  Had  the  missionaries  remembered  that 
it  was  practised  in  Asia  with  all  these  meanings  long 
before  it  was  chosen  as  the  sign  of  the  new  cove- 
nant, they  need  have  invoked  neither  Satan  nor  Saint 
Thomas  to  explain  its  presence  in  America. 

As  corporeal  is  near  akin  to  spiritual  pollution, 
and  cleanliness  to  godliness,  ablution  preparatory  to 
engaging  in  religious  acts  came  early  to  have  an 
emblematic  as  well  as  a  real  significance.  The 
water  freed  the  soul  from  sin  as  it  did  the  skin  from 
stain.  We  should  come  to  God  with  clean  hands 
and  a  clean  heart.  As  Pilate  washed  his  hands 
before  the  multitude  to  indicate  that  he  would  not 
accejit  the  moral  responsibility  of  their  acts,  so  from 
a  similar  motive  a  Natchez  chief,  who  had  been  per- 
suaded against  his  sense  of  duty  not  to  sacrifice  him- 
self on  the  pyre  of  his  ruler,  took  clean  water,  washed 
his  hands,  and  threw  it  upon  live  coals.^     When  an 

'  The  term  in  Maya  is  cnpiit  zihil,  corresponding'  exactly  to 
the  Latin  renasci,  to  be  re-born,  Landa,  liel.fle  Yucalan,  p.  lil. 
2  Dumont,  Mems.  Ifht.  sur  la  Louislane,  i.  p.  233. 


1 1 


I  iriTi  >  Mii  il  I  1  ITii**^ 


THE  lilTE  OF  BAPTISM. 


188 


ancient  Peruvian  had  laid  bare  liif4  guilt  by  con- 
fession, he  bathed  himself  in  a  neighboring  river  and 
repeated  this  formula  : — 

"  O  thou  lliver,  receive  the  sins  I  have  this  day 
confessed  unto  the  Sun,  carry  them  down  to  the  sea, 
and  let  them  never  more  appear."  ^ 

The  Navajo  Avho  has  been  deputed  to  carry  a  dead 
body  to  burial,  holds  himself  unclean  until  he  has 
thoroughly  washed  himself  in  water  prepared  for  the 
purpose  by  certain  ceremonies.^  When  a  Bri-Bri  has 
touched  a  corpse  or  a  pregnant  woman  he  takes  a  cala- 
bash of  water  to  purify  himself.^  A  batli  was  an 
indispensable  step  in  the  mysteries  of  Mithras,  the 
initiation  at  Eleusis,  the  meda  worship  of  the  Algon- 
kins,  the  Busk  of  the  Creeks,  the  cercnonials  of 
religion  everywhere.  Baptism  was  at  first  always 
immersion.  It  was  a  bath  meant  to  solemnize  the 
reception  of  the  child  into  the  guild  of  mankind, 
drawn  from  the  prior  custom  of  ablution  at  any 
solemn  occasion.  In  both  the  object  is  greater  purity, 
bodily  and  spiritual.  As  certainly  as  there  is  a  law 
of  conscience,  as  certainly  as  our  actions  fall  short  of 
our  volitions,  so  certainly  is  man  painfully  aware  of 
various  imperfections  and  sliortcomings.  What  he 
fccio  he  attributes  to  the  infant.  Avowedly  to  free 
themselves  from  this  sense  of  guilt,  the  Delawares 
used  an  emetic  (Loskiel),  the  Cherokees  a  potion 
cooked  up  l)y  an  order  of  female  warriors  (Timber- 
lake),  the  Takahlies  of  Washington  Territory,  the 


i 


ItO 
li. 


1  Acosta,  Uht.  of  the  New  Worlrl,  lib.  v.  cap.  25. 

2  Senate  Report  on  Condition  of  Indian  Tribes,  p.  358.    AVash- 
incfton,  1SG7, 

3  Gabb,  Tnd.  Tribes  of  Costa  Rica,  p.  505. 


184  MYTHS  OF  WATER, FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

Aztecs,  Mayas,  and  Peruvians,  auricular  confession. 
Forniulizo  these  feelings  and  we  liavo  the  dogmas  of 
"original  sin,"  and  of  "■  spiritual  regeneration."  Tho 
order  of  haptism  among  the  Aztecs  commenced,  "  O 
child,  receive  tho  water  of  the  Loi'd  of  tho  world, 
which  is  our  life  ;  it  is  to  wash  and  to  purify  ;  may 
these  drops  remove  the  sin  which  was  given  to  theo 
before  the  creation  of  the  world,  since  all  of  us  are 
under  its  power ;"  and  concluded,  "  Now  he  liveth 
anew  and  is  born  anew,  now  is  he  purified  and 
cleansed,  now  our  mother  the  Water  again  bringeth 
him  into  tho  world."  ^ 

A  name  was  then  assigned  to  the  child,  usually 
that  of  some  ancestor,  who  it  was  supposed  would 
thus  bo  induced  to  exercise  a  kindly  supervision  over 
the  little  one's  future.  In  after  life  should  the  per- 
son desire  admittance  to  a  superior  class  of  the  popu- 
lation and  had  the  wealth  to  purchase  it — for  here  as 
in  more  enlightened  lands  nobility  was  a  matter  of 
money — he  underwent  a  second  baptism  and  received 
another  name,  but  still  ostensibly  from  the  goddess 
of  water.'^ 

In  Peru  tho  child  was  immersed  in  the  fluid,  the 
priest  exorcised  the  evil  and  bade  it  enter  the  water, 
which  was  then  buried  in  the  ground.'  In  either 
country  sprinkling  could  take  tlie  place  of  immersion. 
The  Cherokees  believe  that  unless  the  rite  is  punctu- 
ally performed  when  the  child  is  three  days  old,  it 
will  inevitably  die.* 

^  Sahagun,  H'lst.  de  la  Nueva  Espafia,  lib.  vi.  cap.  37. 
2  Ternaux-Compans,  Pieces  rel.  a  la  Cong,  du  Mexique,  p. 233. 
^  Velasco,  Hist,  de  la  Royaurne  de  Quito,  p.  lOG,  and  others. 
*  Whipple,  Rep.  on  the  Indian  Tribes,  p.  35.     I  am  not  sure 


> 


THE  WATER  OF  LIFE. 


186 


As  thus  curative  and  preservative,  it  was  imagined 
that  there  wan  water  of  which  whoever  should  drink 
would  not  die,  but  live  forever.  I  have  already 
alluded  to  the  Fountain  of  Youth,  supposed  long 
before  Columbus  saw  the  surf  of  San  Salvador  to  exist 
in  the  Bahama  Islands  or  Florida.  It  seems  to  have 
lingered  long  on  that  peninsula.  Not  many  years  ago, 
Coacooche,  a  Seminole  chieftain,  related  a  vision 
which  had  nerved  him  to  a  desperate  escape  from  the 
Castle  of  St.  Augustine.  "  In  my  dream,"  said  he, 
"  I  visited  the  happy  hunting  grounds  and  saw  my 
twin  sister,  long  since  gone.  She  offered  me  a  cup 
of  pure  water,  which  she  said  came  from  the  spring 
of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  if  I  should  drink  of  it,  I  should 
retur-      id  live  with  her  forever."  ^    Some  such  mya- 


[ 


that  this  practice  was  of  native  growth  to  the  Cherokees.  This 
people  had  many  customs  and  traditions  strangely  similar  to 
those  of  Christians  and  Jews.  Their  cosmogony  is  a  paraphrase 
of  that  of  Genesis  (Payne's  MSS.)  ;  the  number  seven  is  as 
sacred  with  them  as  it  was  with  the  Chaldeans  (Whipple,  u.  s.); 
and  they  have  improved  and  increased  by  contact  with  the  whites. 
Significant  in  this  connection  is  the  remark  of  Bartram,  who 
visited  them  in  177'J,  that  some  of  their  females  were  "  nearly 
as  fair  and  blooming  as  European  women,"  and  generally  that 
their  complexion  was  lighter  than  their  neighbors  {Travels,  p. 
485).  Two  explanations  of  these  facts  may  be  suggested. 
Payne  says  they  had  villages  near  Savannah  and  the  English 
in  Carolina.  More  probably  tliey  derived  their  peculiarities 
from  the  Spaniards  of  Florida.  Mr.  Sliea  is  of  opinion  that  mis- 
sions were  established  among  them  as  early  as  loGO  and  1643 
{Ilist.  of  Catholic  MixsUms  in  the  U.  S.,  pp.  58,  73).  Certainly  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Spaniards  were 
prosecuting  mining  operations  in  their  territory  (See  Am.  Hist, 
Mag.,  X.  p.  137). 
*  Sprague,  Hist,  of  the  Florida  War,  p.  328. 


13G  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

tical  respect  for  the  element,  rather  than  as  a  mere 
outfit  for  his  spirit  home,  probably  induced  the  earlier 
tribes  of  the  same  territory  to  place  the  conch-sheil 
which  the  deceased  had  used  for  a  cup  conspicu- 
ously on  his  grave,^  and  the  Mexicans  and  Peru- 
vians to  inter  a  vase  filled  with  water  with  the  corpse, 
or  to  sj)rinkle  it  with  the  liquid,  baptizing  it,  as  it 
were,  into  its  new  associations.'^  It  was  an  emblem 
of  the  hope  that  should  cheer  the  dwellings  of  the 
dead,  a  symbol  of  the  resurrection  which  is  in  store 
lor  those  who  have  gone  down  to  the  grave. 

The  vase  or  the  gourd  as  a  symbol  of  water,  the 
source  a'^'l  nreserver  of  life,  is  a  consj)icuous  figure 
in  the  myths  of  ancient  America.  As  Akbal  or  Hue- 
comitl,  the  great  or  original  vase,  in  Aztec  and  Maya 
Jegends  it  plays  important  parts  in  the  drama  of  crea- 
tion ;  as  Tici  (Ticcu)  in  Peru  it  is  the  symbol  of  the 
rains,  and  as  a  gourd  it  is  often  mentioned  by  tiie 
Caribs  and  Tupis  as  the  parent  of  the  atmospheric 
waters. 

As  the  Moon  is  associated  with  the  dampness  and 
dews  of  night,  an  ancient  and  wide-spread  myth 
identified  her  with  the  Goddess  of  Water.  Moreover 
in  spite  of  the  expostulations  of  the  learned,  the 
common  people  the  world  over  persist  in  attributing 
to  her  a  marked  influence  on  the  rains.  Whether 
false  or  true,  this  familiar  opinion  is  of  great  antiquity, 
and  was  decidedlj^  approved  by  the  Indians,  who  were 
all,  in  the  words  of  an  old  author,  "  great  observers 


'  Hasanier,  Histolre  Notable  dn  la  Floride,  p.  10. 
'  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  la  I\ueva  Espana,  lib.  iii    app.   cap.  i. 
Meyen,  Ueber  die  Ureinwohner  von  Peru,  p.  2U. 


^ 


THE  MOON  AS  GODDESS  OF  WATER. 


13'< 


i 


of  the  weather  by  the  moon."  ^  They  looked  upon  her 
not  only  as  forewarning  them  by  her  appearance  of 
the  approach  of  rains  and  fogs,  but  as  being  their 
actual  cause. 

Isis,  her  Egyptian  title,  literally  means  moisture  ; 
Ataensic,  whom  the  Hurons  said  was  the  moon,  is 
derived  from  the  word  for  water;  in  Hidatsa  midi 
is  moon,  mi'di  water,  and  Citatli  and  Atl,  moon  and 
water,  are  constantly  confounded  in  Aztec  theology. 
Their  attributes  were  strikingly  alike.  They  were 
both  the  mytl.ical  mothers  of  the  race,  and  both 
protect  women  in  child-birth,  the  babe  in  the  cradle, 
the  husbandman  in  the  field,  and  the  youth  and 
maiden  in  their  tender  affections.  As  the  transfer  of 
legends  was  nearly  always  from  the  water  to  its  lunar 
goddess,  by  bringing  them  in  at  this  point  their  true 
meaning  will  not  fail  to  be  apparent. 

We  must  ever  bear  in  mind  that  the  course  of  my- 
thology is  from  many  gods  toward  one,  that  it  is  a 
synthesis,  not  an  analysis,  and  that  in  this  process 
the  tendency  is  to  blend  in  one  the  traits  and  stories 
of  originally  separate  (divinities.  As  has  justly  been 
observed  by  the  Mexican  antiquarian  Gama :  "  It  was 
a  common  trait  among  the  Indians  to  worship  many 
gods  under  the  figure  of  one,  principally  those  whose 
activities  lay  in  the  same  direction,  or  those  in  some 
way  related  among  themselves."  ^ 

The  time  of  full  moon  was  chosen  both  in  Mexico 
and  Peru  to  celebrate  the  festival  of  the  deities  of 

1  Gabriel  Thomas,  Hist,  of  West  New  Jersey,  p.  6.  Londou, 
1698. 

2  Gama,  Des.  de  las  dos  Piedras,  etc.,  i.  p.  36. 


\ 


138  MYTHS  OF  WA  TER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDERSTORM. 

water,  the  patrons  of  agriculture,^  and  very  generally 
the  ceremonies  connected  with  the  crops  were  regu- 
lated by  her  phases.  The  Nicaraguans  said  that  the 
god  of  rains,  Quiateot,  rose  in  the  east,'^  thus  hinting 
how  this  connection  originated.  At  a  lunar  eclipse 
the  Orinoco  Indians  seized  their  hoes  and  labored 
with  exemplary  vigor  on  their  growing  corn,  saying 
the  moon  was  veiling  herself  in  anger  at  their  habit- 
ual laziness  ;  ^  and  a  description  ot  the  New  Nether- 
lands, written  about  1650,  remarks  that  the  savages 
of  that  land  "ascribe  great  influence  to  the  moon 
over  crops."  ^  This  venerable  superstition,  common 
to'all  races,  still  lingers  among  our  own  farmers, 
manv  of  whom  continue  to  observe  "  the  siijns  of  the 
moon"  in  sowing  grain,  setting  out  trees,  cutting 
timber,  and  other  rural  avocations. 

As  representing  water,  the  universal  mother,  the 
moon  was  the  protectress  of  women  in  child-birth, 
the  goddess  of  love  and  babes,  the  patroness  of 
marriage.  To  her  the  mother  called  in  travail, 
whether  by  the  name  of  "  Diana,  diva  triformis  "  in 
pagan  Rome,  by  that  of  Mama  Quilla  in  Peru,  or  of 
Meztli  in  Anahuac.  Under  the  title  of  Yohualticitl, 
the  Lady  of  Night,  she  was  also  in  this  latter  conn-, 
try  the  guardian  of  babes,  and  as  Teczistecatl,  the 
cause  of  generation.* 

1  Garcia,  Or.  delos  Indios,  p.  109. 

2  Oviedo,  Rel.  de  la  Prov.  de  Nicaraf/na,  p.  41.     The  name  is 
a  coiTuption  of  the  Aztec  Quiauhtcotl,  Rain-God. 

^  Gumilla,  Hist,  del  Orinoco,  ii.  cap.  2H. 
*  Doc.  Hist,  of  Neio  York,  iv.  p.  130. 

''  Gama,  Des.  de  las  dos  Piedras,  ii.  p.  41 ;  Gallatin,   Trans. 
Am.  Ethnol.  Soc,  i.  p.  31-'J. 


T 


J    !i 


THE  MOON  AS  GODDESS  OF  NIGHT. 


139 


I 


I  I 


i 


I 


Very  different  is  another  aspect  of  the  inoon  god- 
dess, and  well  might  the  Mexicans  paint  her  with 
two  colors.  The  beneficent  dispenser  of  harvests 
and  offspring,  she  nevertheless  has  a  portentous  and 
terrific  phase.  She  is  also  the  goddess  of  the  night, 
the  dampness,  and  the  cold ;  she  engenders  the  mias- 
matic poisons  that  rack  our  bones ;  she  conceals  in 
her  mantle  the  foe  who  takes  us  unawares ;  she  rules 
those  vague  shapes  which  fright  us  in  the  dim  light ; 
the  causeless  sounds  of  night,  or  its  more  oppressive 
silence  are  familiar  to  her ;  she  it  is  who  sends  dreams 
wherein  gods  and  devils  have  their  sport  with  man, 
and  slumber,  the  twin  brother  of  death.  In  the  oc- 
cult philosophy  of  the  middle  ages  she  was  "  Chief 
over  the  Night,  Darkness,  Rest,  Death,  and  the 
Waters;"^  in  the  language  of  the  Algonkins,  her 
name  is  identical  with  the  words  for  night,  death, 
cold,  sleep,  and  water.^ 

She  is  the  evil  minded  woman  who  thus  brings 
diseases  upon  men,  ^v^lio  at  the  outset  introduced  pain 
and  death  in  the  world — our  common  mother,  yet 

1  Adrian  Van  Ilelmont,  Workes,  p.  142,  fol.    London,  1GG2. 

2  The  moon  is  nipa,  or  nipaz  ;  nipa,  I  sleep;  n?/jfT?t'i,  night;  «ijt>, 
I  die;  tiepua,  dead;  nipanoue,  cold.  This  odd  relationship  was 
first  pointed  out  by  Volney  (Duponceau,  Langues  de  VAmerique 
(hi  Nord,  p.  317).  But  the  kinship  of  these  words  to  that  for 
water,  nip,  nipt,  nepi,  has  not  before  been  noticed.  This  proves 
ihe  association  of  ideas  on  which  I  lay  so  much  stress  in  my- 
thology. A  somewhat  similar  relationship  exists  in  the  Aztec 
and  cognate  languages,  miqui,  to  die,  micqiii  dead,  mictlnn,  the 
realm  of  death,  (e-mtqni,  to  dream,  ccc-miqui,  to  freeze.  Would 
it  be  going  too  far  to  connect  tlinse  with  metzli  moon  ?  (See 
Buschmann,  Spuren  dcr  AzteUschen  Sprache  iin  Nordlichen  Mexi- 
co, p.  80.) 


•M.m 


\ 


140  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

the  cruel  cause  of  our  present  woes.  Sometimes 
it  is  the  moon,  sometimes  water,  of  whom  this  is 
said. 

"  We  are  all  of  us  under  the  power  of  evil  and 
sin,  because  we  are  children  of  the  Water,"  says  the 
Mexican  baptismal  formula.  That  Unktahe,  spirit  of 
water,  is  the  master  of  dreams  and  witchcraft,  is  the 
belief  of  the  Dakotas.^  A  female  spirit,  wife  of  the 
great  manito  whose  heart  is  the  sun,  the  ancient 
Algonkins  believed  brought  death  and  disease  to  the 
race ;  "  it  is  she  who  kills  men,  otherwise  they  would 
never  die ;  she  eats  their  flesh  and  knaws  their  vitals, 
till  they  fall  away  and  miserably  perish."  ^  Who  is 
this  woman?  In  the  legend  of  the  Muyscas  it  is 
Chia,  the  moon,  who  was  also  goddess  of  water  and 
flooded  the  earth  out  of  spite.*  Her  reputation  was 
notoriously  bad.  Did  she  appear  in  a  dream  to  a  Sauk 
warrior,  he  dressed  himself  and  served  as  a  woman 
to  avoid  her  blows.*  The  Brazilian  mother  carefully 
shielded  her  infant  from  the  lunar  rays,  believing 
that  they  would  produce  sickness ;  ^  the  hunting  tribes 
of  our  own  country  will  not  sleep  in  its  light,  nor 
leave  their  game  exposed  to  its  action.  We  ourselves 
have  not  outgrown  such  words  as  lunatic,  moon- 
struck, and  the  like.  Where  did  we  get  these  ideas  ? 
The  philosophical  historian  of  medicine,  Kurt  Spren- 
gel,  traces  them  to  the  primitive  and  j)opular  medi- 
cal theories  of  ancient  Egypt,  in  accordance  with 

1  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  vol.  iii.  p.  485. 

2  Rel.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  1634,  p.  10. 

8  Humboldt,  Vues  des  CordSIleres,  p.  21. 
*  Keating,  Narrative,  i.  p.  216,  in  Waitz. 
6  Spix  and  Martius,  Travels  in  Brazil,  ii.  p.  247. 


4 


•W 


•I  1 


1 


'M^ 


THE  MOON  AS  GODDESS  OF  SICKNESS. 


141 


which  all  maladies  were  the  effects  of  the  anger  of 
the  goddess  Isis,  the  Moisture,  the  Moon.^ 

We  have  here  the  key  to  many  myths.  Take  that  of 
Centeotl,  the  Aztec  goddess  of  Maize.  She  was  said 
at  times  to  appear  as  a  woman  of  surpassing  beauty, 
and  allure  some  unfortunate  to  her  embraces,  des- 
tined to  pay  with  his  life  for  his  brief  moments  of 
pleasure.  Even  to  see  her  in  this  shape  was  a  fatal 
omen.  She  was  also  said  to  belong  to  a  class  of  gods 
whose  home  was  in  the  west,  and  Avho  produced  sick- 
ness and  pains.^  Here  we  see  the  evil  aspect  of 
the  moon  reflected  on  another  goddess,  who  was  at 
first  solely  the  patroness  of  agriculture. 

As  the  goddess  of  sickness,  it  was  supposed  that 
persons  afflicted  with  certain  diseases  had  been  set 
apart  by  the  moon  for  her  peculiar  service.  These 
diseases  were  those  of  a  humoral  typfi,  especially  such 
as  are  characterized  by  issues  and  ulcers.  As  in 
Hebrew  the  word  accursed  is  derived  from  a  root 
meaning  consecrated  to  Grod^  so  in  the  Aztec,  Quiche, 
and  other  tongues,  the  word  for  leprous,  eczematous,  or 
si/philitic,  means  also  divine.  This  bizarre  change  of 
meaning  is  illustrated  in  a  very  ancient  myth  of  their 
family.  It  is  said  that  in  the  absence  of  the  sun  all 
mankind  lingered  in  darkness.  Nothing  but  a  hu- 
man sacrifice  could  hasten  his  arrival.  Then  Metzli, 
the  moon,  led  forth  one  Nanahuatl,  the  leprous,  and 
building  a  pyre,  the  victim  threw  himself  in  its  midst. 
Straightway  Metzli  followed  his  example,  and  as  she 
disa2ipeared  in  the  bright  flames  the  sun  rose  over  the 


^  Hist,  lie  la  Medecine,  i.  p.  31. 

2  Gama,  Dcs.  de  las  dos  Piedraii,  etc.,   ii.   pp.  100-102. 
pare  Saliagun,  Hist,  de  la  Nueva  Expaua,  lib.  i.  cap.  vi. 


Com- 


142  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

horizon.*  Is  not  this  a  reference  to  the  kindling  rays 
of  the  aurora,  in  which  the  dank  and  baleful  night  is 
sacrificed  and  in  whose  light  the  moon  presently 
fades  away,  and  the  sun  comes  forth  ? 

Another  reaction  in  the  mythological  laboratory  is 
here  disclosed.  As  the  good  qualities  of  water  were 
attributed  to  the  goddess  of  night,  sleep,  and  death, 
so  her  malevolent  traits  were  in  turn  reflected  back 
on  this  element.  Other  thoughts  aided  the  transfer. 
In  primitive  geography  the  Ocean  Stream  coils  its 
infinite  folds  around  the  speck  of  land  we  inhabit, 
biding  its  time  to  swallow  it  wholly.  Unwillingly 
did  it  yield  the  earth  from  its  bosom,  daily  does  it 
steal  it  away  piece  by  piece.  Every  evening  it  hides 
the  light  in  its  depths,  and  Night  and  the  Waters 
resume  their  ancient  sway.  The  word  for  ocean 
(^mare)  in  the  Latin  tongue  means  by  derivation  a 
desert,  and  the  Greeks  spoke  of  it  as  "  the  barren 
brine."  Water  is  a  treacherous  element.  Man  treads 
boldly  on  the  solid  earth,  but  the  rivers  and  lakes 
constantly  strive  to  swallow  those  who  venture  within 
their  reach.  As  streams  run  in  tortuous  channels, 
and  as  rains  accompany  the  lightning  serpent,  this 
animal  was  occasionally  the  symbol  of  the  waters  in 
their  dangerous  manifestations.     The  Huron  magi- 

^  Codex  Chimalpopoca,  in  Brasseiir,  Hist,  du  McxJque  \.  p. 183. 
Gama  and  others  translate  Xanahuatl  by  el  buhow.  Brasseur  by 
le  syph'ditiqiie,  and  the  latter  founds  certain  medical  speculations 
on  tho  word.  It  is  entirely  unnecessary  to  say  to  a  surgeon  that 
it  could  not  possibly  have  had  the  latter  meaninc:,  inasmuch  as 
the  diagnosis  between  secondary  or  tertiary  syphilis  and  other 
similar  diseases  was  unknown.  That  it  is  so  employed  now  is 
nothing  to  the  purpose.  The  same  or  a  similar  myth  was  found 
in  Central  America  and  on  the  Island  of  Haiti. 


,  ^ 


(« 


r  f 


DOGS  AS  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  MO  OX. 


143 


cians  fabled  that  in  the  lakes  and  rivers  dwelt  one  of 
vast  size  called  Angont,  who  sent  sickness,  death,  and 
other  mishaps,  and  the  least  mite  of  whose  llcsh  was 
a  deadly  poison.  They  added — and  this  was  the 
point  uf  the  tale — that  they  always  kept  on  hand  por- 
tions of  the  monster  for  the  benefit  of  any  who 
opposed  their  designs.^  The  legends  of  the  Alj^on- 
kins  mention  a  rivalry  between  Michabo,  creator  of 
the  earth,  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Waters,  who  wa:?  un- 
friendly to  the  project.'^  In  later  tales  this  antag- 
onism becomes  more  and  more  pronounced,  and  bor- 
rows an  ethical  significance  which  it  did  not  have  at 
first.  Taking,  however,  American  religions  a:i  a 
whole,  water  is  far  more  frequently  represented  as  pro- 
ducing beneficent  effects  than  the  reverse. 

Dogs  were  supposed  to  stand  in  some  peculiar  rela- 
tion to  the  moon,  probably  because  they  howl  fit  it 
and  run  at  night,  uncanny  practices  which  have  cost 
them  dear  in  reputation.  The  custom  prevailed 
among  tribes  so  widely  asunder  as  Peruvians,  Tupis, 
Creeks,  Iroquois,  Algonkins,  and  Greenland  Esldmos 
to  thrash  the  curs  most  soundly  during  an  eclipse.^ 
The  Creeks  explained  this  by  saying  that  thi  big  dog 
Avas  swallowing  the  sun,  and  that  by  svhip  )ing  the 
little  ones  they  could  make  him  desist.  \Miat  the 
big  dog  was  they  were  not  prepared  to  say.      We 

1  Rel.  de  la  Noxiv.  France,  1648,  p.  75. 

2  Charlevoix  is  in  error  when  he  identifies  Michabo  with  the 
Spirit  of  Waters,  and  may  be  corrected  from  his  own  state- 
ments elsewhere.  Compare  his  Journal  Ilistorique,  pp.  281  and 
344  ;  ed,  Paris,  1740. 

8  Bradford,  American  Antiquities,  p.  333  ;  Martins,  Von  dem 
Rechtszustande  unter  den  Ureinwohnern  Brasiliens,  p.  32  ;  School- 
craft, Ind.  Tribes,  i.  p.  271. 


\ 


144  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

know.  It  was  tho  night  goddess,  represented  by  the 
dog,  who  was  thus  shrouding  the  world  at  midday. 
The  ancient  liomans  sacrificed  dogs  to  Hecate  and 
Diana ;  in  Egypt  they  were  sacred  to  Isis,  and  thus  as 
traditionally  connected  with  night  and  its  terrors, 
tho  Prince  of  Darkness,  in  tho  superstition  of  the  mid- 
dle r.ges,  preferably  appeared  under  the  form  of  a  cur, 
as  that  famous  poodle  which  accompanied  Cornelius 
Agrippa,  or  that  which  grew  to  such  enormous  size 
behind  the  stove  of  Dr.  Faustus.  In  a  better  sense, 
they  repres.  nted  the  more  {'greeable  char-^cteristics 
of  the  lunar  goddess.  Xochiquetzal,  most  fecund  of 
Aztec  divinities,  patroness  of  love,  of  sexual  pleasure, 
and  of  childbirth,  was  likewise  called  Itzcuinan, 
which,  literally  translated,  is  hitch-mother.  This 
strange  and  to  us  so  repugnant  title  for  a  goddess 
was  not  without  parallel  elsewhere.  When  in  his 
wars  the  Inca  Pachaeutec  carried  his  arms  into  the 
province  of  Iluanca,  he  found  its  inhabitants  had  in- 
stalled in  their  temples  the  ligure  of  a  dog  as  their 
highest  deity.  They  were  accustomed  also  to  select 
one  as  his  living  representative,  to  pray  to  it  and 
offer  it  sacrifice,  and  when  well  fattened,  to  serve  it 
up  with  solemn  ceremonies  at  a  great  feast,  eating 
their  god  substantlallter.  The  priests  in  this  province 
summoned  their  attendants  to  the  temples  by  blowing 
through  an  instrument  fashioned  from  a  dog's  skull.^ 
This  canine  canonization  explains  why  in  some  parts 
of  Peru  a  priest  was  called  by  way  of  honor  allco^ 
dog !  ^  And  why  in  many  tombs  both  there  aiid  in 
Mexico  their  skeletons  are  found  carefully  interred 

1  La  Vega,  Hist,  des  lucas,  liv.  vi.  cap.  9. 

2  Lett,  sur  les  Superstitions  da  Pirou^  p.  111. 


D0Q8  A8  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  MOON. 


145 


■^v^iili  the  human  remains.  Many  tribes  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast  united  in  the  adoration  of  a  wild  species, 
the  coyote,  the  canis  latrans  of  naturalists.  The 
Shoshonees  of  New  Mexico  call  it  their  progenitor,^ 
and  with  the  Nahuas  it  was  in  such  high  honor  that 
it  had  a  temple  of  its  own,  a  congregation  of  priests 
devoted  to  its  service,  statues  carved  in  stone,  an 
elaborate  tomb  at  death,  and  is  said  to  be  meant  by 
the  god  Chantico,  whose  audacity  caused  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  world.  The  story  was  that  he  made  a 
sacrifice  to  the  gods  without  observing  a  preparatory 
fast,  for  which  he  was  punished  by  being  changed 
into  a  dog.  He  then  invoked  the  god  of  death  to 
deliver  him,  which  attempt  to  evade  a  just  punish- 
ment so  enraged  the  divinities  that  they  immersed 
the  world  in  water.'' 

During  a  storm  on  our  northern  lakes  the  Indians 
think  no  offering  »o  likely  to  appease  the  angry  wa- 


fO 


^  Schoolcraft,   Ind.  Tribes,  iv.  p.  224.    Other  modern  coyote 
myths  in  Bancroft,  Native  Races,  iii.  ch.  ii.  iii. 

2  Chantico,  according  to  Gama,  means  "Wolf's  Head," 
though  I  cannot  verify  this  from  the  vocabularies  within  my 
reach.  He  is  sometimes  called  Cohuaxolotl  Chantico,  the  snake- 
servant  Chantico,  considered  by  Gama  as  one,  by  Torquemada 
as  two  deities  (see  Gama,  Des.  de  las  dos  Piedras,  etc.,  i.  p.  ''2  ; 
ii.  p.  6G).  The  English  word  cantico  in  the  phrase,  for  instance, 
•'  to  cat  a  cantico,"  though  an  Indian  word,  is  not  from  this, 
but  from  the  Algonkin  Delaware  gentlehn,  to  dance  a  sacred 
dance.  Tlie  Dutch  describe  it  as  "a  religious  custom  ob- 
served among  them  before  death  "  (^Doc.  Hint,  of  New  York,  iv. 
p.  G3) .  William  Penn  says  of  the  Lenape,  "  their  worship  con- 
sists of  two  parts,  sacrifice  and  cantico,"  the  latter  "  performed 
by  round  dances,  sometimes  words,  sometimes  songs,  then 
shouts ;  their  postures  very  antic  and  diifering."     (^Letter  to  the 

Free  Society  of  Traders,  1683,  sec.  21.) 

10 


146  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

ter  god  who  is  raising  the  tempest  as  a  dog.  There- 
fore they  hasten  to  tie  the  feet  of  one  and  toss  him 
overboard.^  One  meets  constantly  in  their  tales  and 
superstitions  the  mysterious  powers  of  the  animals, 
and  the  distinguished  actions  he  lias  at  times  per- 
formed bear  usually  .?.  close  parallelism  to  those  at- 
tributed to  water  and  the  moon. 

Hunger  and  thirst  were  thus  alleviated  by  water. 
Cold  remained,  and  against  this  fire  was  the  shield. 
It  gives  man  light  in  darkness  and  warmth  in  winter ; 
it  shows  him  his  friends  and  warns  him  of  his  foes ; 
the  flames  point  toward  heaven  and  the  smoke  makes 
tlie  clouds.  Around  it  social  life  begins.  For  his 
liome  and  his  hearth  the  savage  has  but  one  word, 
and  what  of  tender  emotion  his  breast  can  feel,  is 
linked  to  the  circle  that  gather  around  his  fire.  The 
council  fire,  the  camp  fire,  and  the  war  fire,  are  so 
many  epochs  in  his  history.  By  its  aid  many  arts 
become  possible,  and  it  is  a  civilizer  in  more  ways 
than  one.  In  the  figurative  language  of  the  red  race, 
it  is  constantly  used  as  "  an  emblem  of  peace,  hap- 
piness, and  abundance."  ^     To  extinguish  an  enemy's 

>  Charlevoix,  Hist.  Gen.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  i.  p.  394: 
Paris,  1740.  On  the  different  species  of  dogs  indigenous  to 
America,  see  a  note  of  Alex,  von  Humboldt,  Ansichtender  Nntur, 
i.  p.  194.  It  may  be  noticed  that  Chicliimec,  properly  Chiclii- 
mecatl,  the  name  of  the  Aztec  tribe  who  succeeded  the  ancient 
Toltecs.in  Mexico,  means  literally  "people  of  the  dog,"  and 
probably  was  derived  from  some  mythological  fable  connected 
with  that  animal. 

«  Narr.  of  the  Captiv.  of  John  Tanner,  p.  363.  From  the  word 
for  fire  in  many  American  tongues  is  formed  the  adjective  red. 
Thus,  Algonkin,  sl-oda,  fire,  mislcoda,  red;  Kolosch,  kan,  fire, 
han,  red;  Ugalentz,  taTcah,  fire,  takah-uete,  red;  Tahkali,  cun, 


\J 


SUN  WORSHIP, 


147 


fire  is  to  slay  him ;  to  light  a  vinitor's  fire  is  to  bid 
him  welcome.  It  may  also  bo  terrible  and  painful. 
The  prairie  fire,  the  forest  conflagration,  the  volcano 
and  the  lightning  show  that  its  mood  is  not  always 
kind.  Fire  worship  was  closely  related  to  that  of 
the  sun,  and  so  much  has  been  said  of  sun  worship 
among  the  aborigines  of  America  that  it  is  well  at 
once  to  assign  it  its  true  position. 

A  generation  ago  it  wjis  a  fashion  very  much 
approved  to  explain  all  symbols  and  myths  by  the  * 
action  of  this  orb  on  nature.  This  short  aiid  easy 
method  witli  mytliology  has,  in  Carlylian  phrase,  had 
its  bottom  pulled  from  under  it  in  thest;  later  times. 
Nowhere  has  it  manifested  its  inefficiency  more  pal- 
pably than  in  America.  One  writer,  while  thus  ex- 
plaining the  religions  of  the  tribes  of  colder  regions, 
and  higher  latitudes,  den  ^s  sun  worship  among  tho 
natives  of   hot  climates;    another  asserts  that   only 


n 


f*^""""*^ 


fire,  tcnil-cun,  red  ;  Quiche,  cal;  fire,  cak,  red,  etc.  From  the  ad- 
jective red  comes  often  the  word  for  blood,  and  iu  symbolism  the 
color  red  may  refer  to  either  of  these  ideas.  It  was  the  royal 
color  of  the  Incas,  brothers  of  the  sun,  and  a  llama  swathed  in 
a  red  garment  was  tho  Peruvian  sacrifice  to  fire  (Gurcia,  Or. 
de  las  Indies,  lib.  iv.  caps.  10,  19).  On  the  other  hand  the  war 
Quipus,  the  war  wampum,  and  the  war  paint  wero  all  of  this 
hue,  boding  their  sanguinary  significance.  The  word  for  fire 
in  the  language  of  the  Uelawares,  Nanticokes,  and  neigh l)oriug 
tribes  puzzles  me.  It  is  iamda  (X  tinda.  This  is  the  Swedish 
word  taenda,  from  whose  root  comes  our  tinder.  Yet  it  is  found 
in  vocabularies  as  early  as  1650,  and  is  universally  current  to- 
day. It  has  no  resemblance  to  tlie  word  for  fire  in  pure  Algon- 
kin.  Was  it  adopted  from  the  Swedes  ?  Was  it  introduced  by 
wandering  Vikings  in  remote  centuries?  Or  ia  it  only  a 
coincidence  ?' 


il 


> 


148  MYTHS  OF  WATER, FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

among  the  latter  did  it  exist  at  all ;  while  a  third 
lays  down  the  maxim  that  the  religion  of  the  red 
race  everywhere  "  was  but  a  modification  of  Sun  or 
Fire  worship."  ^  All  such  sweeping  generalizations 
are  untrue,  and  must  be  so.  No  one  key  can  open 
all  the  arcana  of  symbolism.  Man  devised  means 
as  varied  as  nature  herself  to  express  the  idea  of 
God  witJiin  him.  The  sun  was  but  one  of  these, 
and  not  the  first  nor  the  most  important.  Fear, 
'  said  the  wise  Epicurean,  first  made  the  gods.  Grati- 
tude has  no  power  to  make  one.  The  sun  with  its 
regular  course,  its  kindly  warmth,  its  beneficent 
action,  nowise  inspires  terror,  but  the  reverse.  It 
conjures  no  phantasms  to  appal  the  superstitious 
fancy,  and  its  place  in  primitive  mythology  is  con- 
formably inferior.  The  myths  of  the  Eskimos  and 
northern  Athapascas  omit  its  action  altogether.  The 
Algonkins  by  no  means  imagined  it  the  highest  god, 
and  at  most  but  one  of  his  emblems.^  That  it  often 
appears  in  their  prayers  is  true,  but  this  arose  from 
the  fact  that  in  many  of  their  dialects,  as  well  as  in 
the  language  of  the  Mayas  and  others,  the  word  for 
heaven  or  sky  was  identical  with  that  for  sun,  and 
the  former,  as  I  have  shown,  was  the  supposed  abode 


1  Compare  D'Orbigny,  VHomme  Amdricain,  i.  p.  242 ;  Miiller, 
Ainer.  Urreligionen,  p.  51,  and  Squier,  Serpent  S/pnbol  in  America, 
p.  111.  Thia  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  confusion  of  ideas 
introduced  by  false  systems  of  study,  and  also  of  the  consider- 
able misapprehension  of  American  my  thology  which  has  hitherto 
prevailed. 

2  La  Hon  tan,  Voy.  dans  VAmh.  Sept.,  p.  ii.  127;  Rel.  Nouv. 
France,  1637,  p.  54.  . 


* 


BUN  wonsiiip. 


140 


of  deity,  "  the  wigwam  of  tlio  Groat  Spirit." '  The 
alleged  Bun  worship  of  the  Chorokces  rests  on  testi- 
mony modern,  donl)tful,  and  unsupported.'  The 
Blackfeet  pray  to  Katose,  the  sun.  "  I  have  seen 
them  do  so  hundreds  of  times,"  writes  Gen.  J.  M. 
Brown  ;  "  yet  in  every  instance  when  questioned 
they  explained  that  they  prayed  not  to  the  sun  but 
to  the  Old  Man  who  lives  there."  In  North  Amer- 
ica the  Natchez  alone  were  avowed  worshijipers  of 
this  luminary.  Yet  they  adored  it  under  the  name 
Great  Fire  (ivah  siV)^  clearly  pointing  to  a  prior  ado- 
ration of  that  element.  The  heliolatry  organized 
principally  for  political  ends  by  the  Incas  of  Peru, 
stands  alone  in  the  religions  of  the  red  race.  Those 
shrewd  legislators  at  an  early  date  officially  an- 
nounced that  Inti,  the  sun,  their  own  elder  brother, 
was  ruler  of  the  cohorts  of  heaven  by  like  divine 
right  that  they  were  of  the  four  corners  of  the  earth. 

This  schcnnu  ignominiously  filled,  as  every  attempt 
to  fetter  the  liberty  of  conscience  must  and  should. 
The  later  Incas  tinally  indulged  publicly  in  hetero- 
dox remarks,  and  compromised  the  matter  by  acknow- 
ledging a  divinity  superior  even  to  their  brother,  the 
sun,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Further  to  illustrate  this  peculiarity  of  American 
religions, — for  it  is  an  important  one — I  would  refer 

« 

^  Copway,  Trad.  Hist,  of  the  Ojihway  Nation,  p.  165.  Kesuch 
in  Alcfonkiii  signifies  both  sky  antl  sun  (Duponceau,  Langues 
de  V Ain^r.  du  Nord,  p.  312).  So  apparently  does  kin  in  the 
Maya. 

2  Payne's  manuscripts,  compiled  within  this  centm-y,  from 
which  Mr.  Squier  drow  this  assertion,  are  of  doubtful  value. 
T'ley  are  in  the  Pa.  Ilist.  Soc.  Library. 


150  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  TUUNDER-aTORM. 

to  the  Choctaw  Bayings  regarding  fire  and  the  Sun. 
They  term  the  former  shahli  mikoj "  more  a  chief,"  and 
hashe  ittiapa  "  he  who  accompanies  the  sun  and 
the  sun  him."  Their  language  has  a  "  war  or  fire  par- 
ticle "  with  many  curious  significations,  as  to  wage 
war.  On  going  to  war  they  call  for  aid  to  the  Sun  and 
the  fire,  his  companion.  But  except  as  fire  they  do 
not  address  the  Sun,  nor  does  that  body  stand  in  any 
relation  to  their  religious  thought  other  than  as  a  fire.^ 

The  myths  of  creation  never  represent  the  sun  as 
anterior  to  the  world,  but  as  manufactured  by  thg 
"  old  people"  (Navajos),  as  kindled  and  set  going  by 
the  first  of  men  (Algonkins),  or  as  freed  from  some 
yave  by  a  kindly  deity  (Haitians).  It  is  always  spoken 
of  as  a  fire  ;  only  in  Peru  and  Mexico  had  the  pre- 
cession of  the  equinoxes  been  observed,  and  without 
danger  of  error  we  can  merge  the  consideration  of  its 
worship  almost  altogether  in  that  of  this  element, 
and  in  that  of  Light.** 

The  institutions  of  a  perpetual  fire,  of  obtaining  new 
fire,  and  of  burning  the  dead,  prevailed  extensively 
in  the  New  World.  In  the  present  discussion  the 
origin  of  such  practices,  rather  than  the  ceremonies 
with  which  they  attended,  has  an  interest.  The 
savage  knew  that  fire  was  necessary  to  his  life.     Were 


'  See  Byington,  Grammar  of  the  Choctato  Lanmiage,  p.  43  ; 
Rev.  Alfred  Wright,  Missionary  Herald,  vol.  24,  1828. 

2  The  words  for  fire  and  sun  in  American  languages  are 
usually  from  distinct  roots,  but  besides  the  example  of  the 
Natchez  I  may  instance  to  the  contrary  the  Kolosch  of  British 
America,  in  whose  tongue  fire  is  kan,  sun,  kakan  (gake,  great), 
and  the  Tezuque  of  New  M(  sico,  who  use  tah  for  both  sun  and 
fire. 


4i 


IJtM-^tXJ.i'-'i 


THE  PEBPETUAL  FIRE. 


151 


it  lost,  he  justly  foreboded  dire  calamities  and  the  ruin 
of  his  race.     Therefore  at  stated  times  with  due  so- 
lemnity he  produced  it  anew  by  friction  or  the  flint, 
or  else  was  careful  to  keep  one  fire  constantly  alive. 
These  not  unwise  precautions  soon  fell  to  mere  su- 
perstitions.     If  the  Aztec  priest  at  the  stated  time 
failed  to  obtain  a  spark  from  his  pieces  of  wood,  if  the 
sacred  fire  by  chance  beciime  extinguished,  the  end 
of  the  world  or  the  destruction  of  mankind  was  ap 
prehendcd.     "You  know  it  was  a  saying*  among  our 
ancestors,"  said  an  Iroquois  chief  in  1753,  "  that  when 
the  fire  at  Onondaga  goes  out,  we  shall  no  longer  be 
a  people."  ^     So  deeply  rooted  was  this  notion,  that 
the  Catholic  missionaries  in  New  Mexico  were  fain  to 
wink  at  it  and  perform  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  in  the 
same  building  where  the  flames  were  perpetually  burn- 
ing, that  were  not  to  be  allowed  to  die  until  Montezu- 
ma and  the  fabled  glories  of  ancient  Anahuac  with 
its  ]  "athenism  should  return.^     Thus  fire  became  the 
type  of  life.     "  Know  that  the  life  in  your  body  and 
the  fire  on  your  hearth  are  one  and  the  same  thing, 
and  that  both  proceed  from  one  source,"  said  a  Shaw- 
nee  prophet.^      Such  an  expression  was  wholly  in 
the  spirit  of  his  race.     The  greatest  feast  of  the  r)(;l- 
awares  was  that  to   their  "  grandfather,  the    fire."  * 
"  Their  fire  burns  forever,"  was  the  Algonkin  figure 
of  speech  to  express  the  immortality  of  their  gods.* 
"The  ancient  God,  the   Father  and  Mother   of  all 


<h 


1  Doc.  Hist,  of  New  York,  ii.  p.  631. 

2  Emory,  MiWy.  Reconnoi^sance  of  New  Mexico,  p.  30. 
"  Narrative  of  John  Tanner,  p.  161. 

*  Loskiel,  Ges.  der  Miss,  der  evang.  Briider,  p.  55. 
^  Narrative  of  John  Tanner,  p.  351. 


152  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

Gods,"  says  an  Aztec  prayer,  "is  the  God  of  the  Fire 
\v  liich  is  in  the  centre  of  the  court  with  four  walls, 
and  which  is  covered  with  gleaming  feathers  like 
unio  wings ;"  ^  dark  sayings  of  the  priests,  referring 
to  the  glittering  lightning  fire  borne  from  the  four 
sides  of  the  earth. 

As  the  path  to  a  higher  life  hereafter,  the  burning 
of  the  dead  was  first  instituted.  It  was  a  privilege 
usually  confined  to  a  select  few.  Among  the  Algon- 
kin  Ottawas,  only  those  of  the  distinguished  totem 
of  the  Great  Hare,  among  the  Nicaraguans  none  but 
the  caciques,  among  the  Caribs  exclusively  the  priest- 
ly caste,  were  entitled  to  this  peculiar  honor.'^  The 
first  gave  as  the  reason  for  such  an  exceptional  custom, 
that  the  members  of  so  illustrious  a  clan  as  that  of 
Michabo,  the  Great  Hare,  should  not  rot  in  the 
ground  as  common  folks,  but  rise  to  the  heavens  on 
the  flames  and  smoke.  Those  of  Nicaragua  seemed 
to  think  it  the  sole  path  to  immortality,  holding  that 
only  such  as  offered  themselves  on  the  pyre  of  their 
chieftain  should  escape  annihilation  at  death ;  ^  and 
the  tribes  of  upper  California  were  persuaded  that 
such  as  were  not  burned  at  death  were  liable  to 
be  transformed  into  the  lower  orders  of  brutes.* 
Strangely  enough,  we  thus  find  a  sort  of  baptism  by  fire 
deemed  essential  to  a  higher  life  beyond  the  grave. 

Another  analogy  strengthened  the  symbolic  force 

^  Sahagun,  Hist.  Nueva  Espaua,  lib.  vi.  cap.  4. 

2  Letts.  Ed'ijiantes  et  Curiemes,  iv.  p.  101  ;  Oviedo,  7//.s-^  du 
Nlcarnrjun,  p.  49  ;  Giiniilla,  ///*•/.  del  Orinoco^  ii.  cap.  2. 

^  Oviedo,  Hid.  Gen.  de  las  Indias,  p.  1(5,  in  IJarcia'a  Hist, 
Prim. 

^  Presdt''s  Message  and  Docs,  for  1851,  pt.  ill.  p.  506. 


THE  FIRE  OF  TEE  PA8810N8. 


153 


of  fire  as  life.  This  is  that  which  exists  between  the 
sensation  of  warmth  and  those  passions  whose  phys- 
iological end  is  the  perpetuation  of  the  species.  We 
see  how  native  it  is  to  the  mind-  from  such  coarse 
expressions  as  "  hot  lust,"  "  to  burn,"  "  to  be  in  heat," 
"  stews,"  and  the  like,  figures  not  of  the  poetic,  but 
the  vulgar  tongue.  They  occur  in  all  languages,  and 
hint  how  readily  the  worship  of  li  e  glided  into  that 
of  the  reproductive  principle,  into  extravagances  of 
chastity  and  le^vdness,  into  the  orgies  of  the  so-called 
phallic  worship. 

Some  have  supposed  that  a  sexual  dualism  per- 
vades all  natural  religions,  and  this  too  has  been 
assumed  as  the  solution  of  all  their  myths.  It  has 
been  said  that  the  action  of  heat  upon  moisture,  of 
the  sun  on  the  waters,  the  mysteries  of  reproduction, 
and  the  satisfaction  of  the  sexual  instincts,  are  the 
unvarying  themes  of  primitive  mythology.  Like 
other  exclusive  theories,  this  falls  before  comprehen- 
sive criticism.  It  derives  little  sapport  from  Amer- 
ican mythology. 

There  existed,  indeed,  a  worship  of  the  passions, 
which  was  at  times  grafted  upon  or  rose  out  of  that  of 
fire  by  the  analogy  I  have  pointed  out.  Thus  the 
Mexican  god  of  fire  was  supposed  to  govern  the 
generative  proclivities,^  and  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  sacred  fire  watched  by  unspotted 
virgins  among  the  INIayas  had  decidedly  such  a  signi- 
fication. Certainly  it  was  so,  if  we  can  dej^Mid  upon 
the  authority  of  a  ballad  translated  from  rh*^  original 
immediately  after  the  conquest,  cited  by  the  vener- 


Sahagua,  Hist,  de  la  Nueva  Esf^aia,  i.  cap.  13. 


'Ii 


164  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

able  traveller  and  artist  Count  de  Waldeck.  It  pur- 
ports to  be  from  the  lover  of  one  of  these  vestals, 
and  referrinsf  o  her  occupation  asks  with  a  fine  allu- 
sion to  its  myL^tio  meaning — 

*'  O  vierge,  quand  pourrai-je  te  posseder  pour  ma  compagne 

cherie  ? 
Combion  de  temps  faut-il  encore  que  tes  voeux  soiont  accom- 

plis? 
Dis-moi  le  jour  qui  doit  devancer  la  belle  nuit  oil  tous  deux, 
Alimenterou3  lo  feu  qui  nous  fit  naitre  et  que  nous  dovons 

perpdtuer."  \ 

There  is  a  bright  as  well  as  a  dark  side  even  to 
such  a  worship.  In  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Yucatan,  the 
women  who  watched  the  flames  must  be  undoubted 
virgins ;  they  were  usually  of  noble  blood,  and  must 
vo.v  perpetual  chastity,  or  at  least  were  free  to  none 
but  the  ruler  of  the  realm.  As  long  as  they  were  con- 
secrated to  the  fire,  so  long  any  carnal  ardor  was  de- 
grading to  their  lofty  duties.  The  theory  of  sacrifice 
led  to  tlie  belief  that  to  forego  fleshly  pleasures  was 
a  peculiarly  meritorious  act  in  the  eyes  of  the  gods. 

The  whole  su])ject  of  what  has  incorrectly  been 
called  "  phallic  worship  "  requires  to  be  re-studied  in 
the  light  of  a  higher  science  of  religion  than  has 
hitherto  been  in  vogue.  This  cult  is  one  of  several 
expressions  of  the  religious  sentiment,  not  primarily 
derived  from  the  observation  of  nature  in  production, 
nor  yet  from  mere  lust,  but  from  the  promptings  of 
reason  and  the  emotion  of  love.  As  practised  in 
early  days  at  Lampsacus,  or  now  among  the  Lingayets 
of  India,  it  is  pure,  even  austere.     I  Avould  call  the 

J   Voyaye  Pitforesque  dans  le  Yucatan,  p.  49. 


^V\ 


THE  RELIGION  OF  SEX. 


155 


fhi 


influence  of  the  sex  difference,  as  seen  in  myth  and 
rite,  the  religion  of  sex,  and  would  embrace  under 
it  not  merely  the  worship  of  the  phallus  and  the 
abstract  generative  principle,  but  the  whole  sex- 
ual relations  so  far  as  religion  takes  cognizance  of 
them,  not  omiting  the  .Comtist's  adoration  of  wo- 
man. 

I  shall  briefly  sketch  the  ramifications  of  the  reli- 
gion of  sex  in  the  red  race,  as  displayed  toward  the 
woman,  toward  the  man,  and  toward  their  sexual 
relation. 

The  woman's  share  in  reproduction  is  much  more 
prominent  and  prolonged  than  the  man's.  What 
mystery  there  is  in  it — and  there  is  much — ^belongs 
to  her ;  and  as  the  mysterious  is  the  fear-inspiring, 
so  superstition  very  early  and  very  geaerally  threw 
its  terrors  around  her  special  physioloiiical  functions. 
The  earliest  of  these  is  menstruatic  and  nearly 
everywhere  in  America  we  find  that  yhen  this  first 
appeared  the  girl  fasted  in  seclusion,  and  was  held 
unclean  until  it  disappeared.  Among  our  western 
tribes  she  still  goes  apart  and  builds  her  lonely  fire ; 
if  a  hunter  touch  her,  he  will  kill  no  game,  and  the 
very  dish  she  eats  from  will  bring  him  ill  fortune  if 
he  handle  it. 

In  many  tribes  the  formality  of  marriage  was  at- 
tended with  ceremonies  to  guard  against  the  im- 
agined dangers  which  surround  the  arcana  mulieris. 
Among  the  IMundrucus  and  Guaycurus  of  Brazil  the 
bridegroom  remains  in  an  adjacent  lodge  under  arms 
all  night.  In  Cuba,  Nicaragua  and  among  the  Caribs 
and  Tupis  the  bride  yielded  herself  first  to  another, 
lest  her  husband  should  co'^ie  to  some  ill-luck  by 


I    '•  (I 


166  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 


exercising  a  priority  of  possession  ;  ^  a  superstition 
repeatedly  paralleled  in  the  Old  World. 

Pregnancy  was  very  generally  considered  to  make 
a  woman  unclean.  In  many  northern  tribes  the  hus- 
band refrained  from  all  relations  during  its  continu- 
ance. Among  the  Costa  Ricans,  writes  Mr.  Gabb, 
the  worst  Imkuru  (uncleanness)  of  all  is  that  of  a 
woman  in  her  first  pregnancy.  "She  infects  the  whole 
neighborhood.  All  the  deaths  and  misfortunes  in 
the  vicinity  are  laid  to  her  charge.'"*  In  many 
South  American  tribes  both  husband  and  wife  begin 
a  severe  fast  as  soon  as  the  latter  discovers  she  is 
with  child.^ 

Not  less  portentous  was  the  mystery  of  child- 
birth. The  Cunas  of  Darien  would  put  to  death  a 
man  who  aided  a  woman  in  labor,  though  it  were  to 
save  her  life.*  Among  the  Ottawas  a"\d  neighboring 
tribes,  a  woman  dare  not  enter  the  cabin  of  her  hus- 
band nor  eat  with  any  man  for  one  moon  after  her 
confinement.'  But  the  most  extraordinary  of  all 
customs  was  la  couvade,  common  throughout  the 
Tupi-Guaranay  stem,  and  not  confined  to  them.  This 
was,  that  when  the  wife  was  delivered,  the  husband 
went  to  bed  and  was  waited  upon  and  treated  as  the 
really  sick  one  I  This  act,  so  often  spoken  of  as  the 
most  ridiculous  of  usages,  as  also  the  fast  at  the 


1  Mavtius,  Von  dem  Rechtziistande,  etc.,  p.  113  ;  Oviodo,  Hist, 
de  las  Indias,  lib.  xvii.,  cap.  4  ;»Navarrete,  Viages.  iii.  p.  414. 
1h.\&jusprlmce  noctia  was  exercised  by  the  priests. 

2  The  Ind.  Tr'bcs  and  Langs,  of  Costa  Rica,  p.  505. 

3  Martins,  Die  Ind.  VolLerschaJien  in  Brasilien,  j).  402. 

4  De  Puydt,  Jour.  Roy.  Geog.  Soc,  18G8,  p.  97. 

^  Nic.  Perrot,  Mem.  de  l'A7n.  Sept.  (1665,)  p.  12. 


THE  BELIEF  IN  WOMAN'S  POWER. 


157 


I 


commencement  of  pregnancy,  I  explain  as  propitia- 
tory acts  by  the  man  to  the  mysterious  forces  he  saw 
in  reproduction. 

The  secret,  superstitious  fear  which  woman  thus 
inspired  did  not  desert  her  wlien  the  function  of  par- 
turition ceased.  The  Fates,  the  Norns,  the  witches 
in  Macbeth  indicate  how  prevalent  was  the  belief 
that  woman  holds  the  threads  of  our  life  in  her  age 
as  in  our  infancy.  So  not  only  the  myths  but  the 
customs  of  many  tribes  paid  a  frightened  respect  to 
old  women,  fearing  them  as  powerful  with  the  spirits, 
of  strong  "  medicine,"  dangerous  if  angered.^ 

The  marvellous  power  of  production  woman  has, 
it  was  at  times  suj)j)Osed  she  could  impart  to  grains 
and  seeds.  When  Father  Gumilla  asked  the  men  of 
an  Orinoco  tribe  why  they  did  not  help  the  women  to 
plant  corn,  they  replied,  "  because  women  know  how 
to  bring  forth,  and  can  tell  the  grain ;  but  we  do  not 
know  how  they  do  it,  and  cannot  teach  it."  '  The 
wife  of  a  Sioux,  after  she  has  planted  her  corn  patch, 
will  rise  in  the  night,  strip  herself  naked,  and  walk 
around  it,  thus  to  impart  to  the  grains  the  magic  of 
her  own  fecundity.^  The  Pawnees  were  wont  to 
moisten  their  seed  corn  with  the  blood  of  a  Avoman, 
choosing  a  female  prisoner  to  supply  it.^  The  sim- 
ple faith  here  shown  has  no  profound  relations  to 
nature's  reproductive  powers,  but  solely  to  the  feminine 
fuuctious. 

Such  in  brief  was  the  position  of  woman  in  the  re- 

^  Compare  Waitz,  yl «//«ro/>oZor/iV,  iii.,  s.  101. 

2  Gumilla,  Hist.  Orinoco,  ii.  p.  2o7. 

3  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  v.  p.  70. 
■*  Schoolcraft,  Oneota,  p.  20. 


— ^  ■s.^jr.  aa^a,»»- 


158  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDERSTORM 

ligion  of  sex  as  found  in  the  red  race.  What  now 
was  that  of  man? 

The  change  whi^  'i  takes  place  at  puberty  was  the 
signal  for  him  to  undergo  a  fast,  and  seek  his  guardian 
spirit.  In  North  and  South  America  this  custom 
was  general.  From  that  time  on  he  took  a  new 
name,  but  it  was  sacred  and  known  but  to  his  inti- 
mates. 

That  circumcision,  in  its  proper  sense  of  abscission 
of  the  fore  skin,  was  anywhere  in  use,  I  have  not 
satisfied  myself;  but  tl  at  some  sort  of  rautUation  of 
the  mem.ber  was  very  widely  practised,  and  for  some 
superstitious  notion,  there  can  be  no  doubt.^  That 
it  had  any  reference  beyond  a  vague  one  to  the 
general  mystery  of  sex  remains  to  be  shown.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  scarification  of  the  geni- 
tals and  painful  mutilations  common  among  the 
Mandans,  Aztecs,  Mayas,  and  many  other  tribes,  and 
the  complete  discerption  of  the  part  they  occasionally 
practised. 

The  phallus  was  not  an  uncommon  design  in 
American  art.  I  have  seen  several,  well  cut  in  stone, 
which  have  been  found  in  the  Mississippi  valle}' ;  it  ap- 
peal's often  enough  in  Mexican  and  Yucatecan  remains ; 
very  prominently  in  Incarian  designs ;  and  not  rarely 
in  the  picture  v  ritings  of  savage  tribes.  But  there 
seems  no  suftici<;nfc  evidence  that  it  anvwhere  was  a 


1  Gumilla  asrerts  this  of  tribes  on  the  Apure  and  Orinoco 
(Hist.  (Id  Orinoco,  p.  119);  of  Peruvian  tribes,  Coreal  (Fo/ar/es, 
i.  291);  of  Nicarajyuans,  Oviedo  {Hitt.  Nic.  ii.  p.  48);  of  Mayas, 
Coreal  (i.  p.  73);  of  Guaycurus  and  others,  Garcia  (Or.  de  los 
Indios,  p.  124) ;  of  Hares  and  Dogribs,  Mackenzie  ( Votjage,  p. 
27),  etc. 


.JU. 


RELIGIOUS  ORGIES. 


150 


30 


symbol  of  the  reproductive  power  of  nature.  Tliat 
it  was  at  times  regarded  as  a  fetich  —  as  wliat  was 
not  ? — is  indeed  true ;  the  women  of  a  trilje  in  Para- 
guay wore  an  image  of  it  as  an  amulet,'  as  did  the 
ladies  of  Pompeii ;  the  soldiers  of  Cortes  saw  it  in  the 
reliefs  of  Panuco ;  and  other  examples  are  given.  But 
this  is  not  phallic  worship  in  its  real  sense.  The  ser- 
pent, which  in  the  Old  World  so  often  is  the  symbol 
of  the  phallus,  was  prol)ably  never  so  in  America; 
although  its  similarity  in  form  is  so  obvious  that  in 
various  tongues — tlie  Bri-bri  of  Costa  Kica,"  for  ex- 
ample— the  same  word  is  applied  to  the  animal  and 
the  organ. 

As  to  the  licentiousness  in  sexual  relations  which 
was  presented  at  many  of  their  religious  ceremonies, 
it  is  not  to  be  denied. 

Miscellaneous  congress  very  often  terminated  their 
dances  and  festivals.  Such  orgies  were  of  common 
occurrence  among  the  Algonkins  and  Iroquois  at  a 
very  early  date,  and  are  often  mentioned  in  the  Jesuit 
Relations  ;  Venegas  describes  them  as  frequent  among 
the  tribes  of  Lower  California  ;  and  Oviedo  refers  to 
certain  festivals  of  the  Nicaraguans,  during  which 
the  women  of  all  rank  extended  to  whosoever  wished 
just  such  privileges  as  the  matrons  of  ancient 
Babylon,  that  mother  of  harlots  and  all  abominations, 
used  to  grant  even  to  slaves  and  strangers  in  the 
temple  of  Melitta,  as  one  of  the  duties  of  religion. 
But  in  fact  there  is  no  ground  to  invest  these  de- 


1  Lafitan,  p.  72,  after  Ruis. 

2  Gabb,  Ind.  Tribes  and  Langs,  of  Costa  Rica,  p.  564  ;  Kehe, 
snake,  and  also  penis. 


>  -^  -^iitim^tM* 


160  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 


bauclies  with  nny  recondite  meaning.  They  are 
Bimi)ly  indications  of  the  thorough  immorality  Avhich 
prevailed  throughout  the  race. 

They  were  on  a  par  with  the  revelries  in  the 
saci'ed  grove  of  Aphaka,  a  fane  which  the  discerning 
and  liberal  emperor  Constantino  razed  to  the  ground, 
not  out  of  intolerance,  but  because  these  orgies  had 
nothing  to  do  with  religion  exce2)t  to  wear  it  as  a 
cloak  for  profligacy. 

Any  one  who  has  listened  to  Indian  tales,  not  as 
they  are  recorded  in  books,  but  as  they  are  told  by 
the  camp-fire,  will  bear  witness  to  the  abounding  ob- 
scenity they  deal  in.^  That  the  same  vulgarity  shows 
itself  in  their  arts  and  life,  no  genuine  observer  need 
doubt.  And  that  it  should  be  absent  from  their 
myths  and  cult  were  surprising  ;  but  its  presence  there 
is  not  to  be  construed  in  the  sense  of  phallus  wor- 
ship. 

The  confounding  of  the  attributes  of  sex  in  one 
person,  common  in  Oriental  religions,  seems  not  to 
have  been  unknown  in  Aztec  myths.  The  Abbe 
Brasseur  and  Mr.  Bancroft  quote  several  examples 
of  these  androgynous  deities ;  but  I  think  it  proba- 
ble that  the  votaries  regarded  such  gods  as  of  either 
sex,  not  of  both  at  once.'^     That  in  many  tribes,  men 

1  The  late  George  Gibbs  will  be  acknowledged  as  an  authority 
here.  He  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  about  preparing  a  Latin 
translation  of  the  tales  he  had  collected,  as  they  were  too  erotic 
to  print  in  English.  He  wrote  me,  "  Schoolcraft's  legends  are 
emasculated  to  a  degree  that  they  become  no  longer  Indian." 

2  The  jNIexican  gc>ds  who  are  alleged  to  have  united  both 
sexes  in  one  person  are  Ometeuctli  and  Omecihuatl  (literally 
*'  two  men"  and  "  two  women"),  otherwise  known  as  Citialicue 


t!,-T'»g.MMJTiJ»  9^m 


CELIBACY  AMONG  THE  PRIESTHOOD. 


161 


rr. 


dressed  as  women,  yielded  themselves  to  sodomitio 
vices,  is  beyond  question,  and  also  thai  at  times  this 
was  done  directly  out  of  religious  motives/ 

On  the  other  hand,  not  only  was  chastity  in  the 
fvjmale  and  celibacy  in  the  male  held  in  superstitious 
esteem,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  at  times  enforced 
by  a  mutilation  of  the  parts.'^  The  Aztec  goddess 
Suchiquctzal  was  a  virgin,'  and  others  could  be 
named.  Vc.y  many  of  the  great  gods  of  the  race, 
Quetz  ilcoatl,  Viracocha,  loskeha,  were  at  times  said 
to  have  been  born  of  a  virgin.  Even  among  the 
Indians  of  Paraguay  the  missionaries  were  startled 
to  find  this  tradition  of  the  maiden  mother  of  the 
god.*  I  liave  already  referred  to  the  vestals  of  the 
semi-civilized  states. 

Celibacy  was  very  general  among  the  priesthood. 
The  '"^  medicine  men  "  of  an  Algonkin  tribe  who  lived 
near  Manhattan  Island  were  so  uncompromising  on 
this  point  that  they  never  so  much  as  partook  of  food 
prepared  by  a  married  woman. ^  The  same  class 
among  the  Rio  Negro  tribes  of  South  America  must 
renounce  marriage  if  they  expect  to  exercise  the 
higher  offices  of  their  calling.     Medicines,  say  they, 


and  Citlalatonac  (literally  "  shininc:  star  "  and  "  star  skirt  ")  ; 
and  Chalchihuitlicue  and  Chalchilmitlatonac-  Mr.  Bancroft 
seems  to  me  to  accept  the  arronothele  character  of  these  deities 
on  insufficient  evidence.  See  his  Native  Races,  vol.  ii.  p.  273, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  58,  373,  etc. 

^  Waltz,  AnthrnpoJogir.  iii,  p.  113. 

2  Davila  Padilla,  Hist.  <Je  S    itiago  de  Mexico,  lib.  ii.  cap.  88. 

3  Cod.  Tell.  Remensis,  p.  197. 

*  Letts.  Ed.  et  Curiemes,  v.  p.  309. 

6  Doc.  Hist.  n/Neio  York,  iv.  p.  28. 

11 


162  MYTHS  OF  W^TER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

lose  all  efficany  if  administered  by  a  married  man.* 
Among  the  hunting  tribes  cast  of  the  Mississippi, 
continence  was  observed  wlien  on  the  war-path,  as 
they  feared  indulgence  would  be  of  evil  omen. 

liy  a  flight  of  fancy  inspired  by  a  study  of  oriental 
mythology,  the  worshiji  of  the  retnprooal  principle 
in  America  has  been  connected  with  that  of  the  sun 
and  moon,  as  the  primitive  pair  from  whoso  fecund 
union  all  creatures  proceeded.  It  is  sufficient  to  say 
if  such  a  myth  exists  among  the  Indians — which  is 
questionable — it  justifies  no  such  deduction  ;  that  the 
moon  is  often  mentioned  in  their  languages  merely  as 
the  "  night  sun  ;"  and  that  in  such  important  stocks 
as  the  Iroquois,  Athapascas,  Cherokees,  Mbocobis 
and  Tupis,  the  sun  is  represented  as  feminine ;  while 
the  myths  speak  of  them  more  frequently  as  brother 
and  sister  than  .as  man  and  wife  ;  nor  did  at  least  the 
northern  tribes  regard  the  sun  as  the  cause  of  fecun- 
dity in  nature  at  all,  but  solely  as  giving  light  and 
warmth.^  • 

In  contrast  to  this,  so  much  the  more  positive  was 
their  association  of  the  thunder-storm  as  that  which 
brings  both  warmth  and  rain  with  the  renewed  vernal 
life  of  vegetation.  The  impressive  phenomena  which 
characterize  it,  the  prodigious  noise,  the  awful  flash, 
the  portentous  gloom,  the  blast,  the  rain,  have  left  a 
profound  impression  on  the  myths  pf  every  land. 
Fire  from  water,  warmth  and  moisture  from  the  de- 
structive breath  of  the  tempest,  this  was  the  riddle 


I 


^  Martius,  Vollcerschaften  Bi-asiliens,  p.  587. 
2  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  v.  pp.  416,  417;  Waitz,  An'hropo- 
logie,  iii.  p.  472. 


«« 


THE  THUNDER-STORM. 


168 


of  riddles  to  the  untutored  mind.  "  Out  of  the  eater 
came  forth  meat,  out  of  the  stroniT  came  forth  sweet- 
ness." It  was  the  visihkj  synthesis  of  all  the  di- 
vine manifestations,  the  winds,  the  water,  and  the 
flames. 

The  Dakotas  conceived  it  as  a  struggle  between 
the  god  of  waters  and  the  thunder  bird  for  the  com- 
mand of  their  nation,^  and  as  a  bird,  one  of  those 
which  make  a  whirring  sound  with  their  wings,  the 
turkey,  the  pheasant,  or  the  nighthawk,  it  was  very 
generally  depicted  by  their  neighbors,  the  Athapas- 
cas,  Ii'oquois,  and  Algonkins.'*  As  the  herald  of  the 
summer  it  was  to  them  a  good  omen  and  a  friendly 
power.  It  was  the  voice  of  the  Great  Spirit  of  the 
four  winds  speaking  from  the  clouds  and  admonish- 
ing them  that  the  time  of  corn  planting  was  at  hand.' 
The  flames  kindled  by  the  lightning  were  of  a  sacred 
nature,  proper  to  be  employed  in  lighting  the  fires  of 
the  religious  rites,  but  on  no  account  to  be  profaned 
by  the  base  uses  of  daily  life.  When  the  flash  en- 
tered the  ground  it  scattered  in  all  directions  these 
stones,  such  as  the  flint,  which  betray  their  supernal 
origin  by  a  gleam  of  fire  when  struck.  These  were 
the  thunderbolts,  and  from  such  an  one,  significantly 
painted  red,  the  Dakotas  averred  their  race  had  pro- 
ceeded.*   For  are  we  not  all  in  a  sense  indebted  for 

1  Mi-«.  Kastman,  Legends  of  the  Sioux, -p.  101. 

2  Rel.  (le  la  Nouv.  France,  1634,  p.  27  ;  Schoolcraft,  Algic 
liescarchct,  ii.  p.  110  ;  Ind.  Tribes,  v.  p.  420. 

3  De  Smet,  Western  Missions,  p.  135  ;  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes^ 
i.  p.  319. 

<  Mrs.  Eastman.  Legends  of  tie  Sioux,  p.  72.     By  another  le- 
gend they  claimed  that  their  first  ancestor  obtained  his  fire  from 


a  • 


s-;^' 


164  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

our  lives  to  fire  ?  "  Tliere  is  no  end  to  the  fancies 
entertained  by  the  Sioux  concerning  thunder,"  ob- 
serves Mrs.  Eastman.  They  typified  the  paradoxical 
nature  of  the  storm  under  the  character  of  the  giant 
Haokah.  To  him  cold  was  heat,  and  heat  cold; 
■when  sad  he  laughed,  when  merry  groaned ;  the  sides 
of  his  face  and  his  eyes  were  of  different  colors  and 
expressions  ;  he  wore  horns  or  a  forked  headdress  to 
represent  the  lightning,  and  with  his  hands  he  hurl- 
ed the  meteors.  His  manifestations  were  fourfold, 
and  one  of  the  four  winds  was  the  drum-stick  he  used 
to  produce  the  thunder.^ 

Omitting  many  others,  enough  that  the  sameness 
of  this  conception  is  illustrated  by  the  myth  of  Tupa, 
highest  god  and  the  first  man  of  the  Tupis  of  Brazil. 
During  his  incarnation,  he  taught  them  agriculture, 
gave  them  fire,  the  cane,  and  the  pisang,  and  now  in 
the  form  of  a  huge  bird  sweeps  over  the  heavens, 
watching  his  children  and  watering  their  crops,  ad- 
monishing them  of  the  presence  by  the  mighty  sound 
of  his  voice,  the  rustling  of  his  wings,  and  the  flash 
of  his  eye.  These  are  the  thunder,  the  lightning,  and 
the  roar  of  the  tempest.  He  is  depicted  with  horns  ; 
he  was  one  of  four  brotliers,  and  only  after  a  desper- 
ate struqfqjle  did  he  drive  his  fraternal  rivals  from 
the  field.  In  his  worship,  the  priests  place  pebbles 
in  a  dry  gourd,  deck  it  with  feathers  and  arrows,  and 


T 


t'-.e  sparks  which  a  friendly  panther  struck  from  the  rocks  as  he 
S3am[iered  up  a  stony  hill  (McCoy,  Hist,  of  Baptist  Indian  Mis- 
sions,  p.  36-t). 

'  Mi's.  Eastman,  iibi  sup.,  p.  158;  Schoolcraft, /n^/.  Tribes, 
vi.  p.  G15. 


4^ 


•rJf" 


THE  MYTH  OF  CATEQUIL. 


165 


rattling  it  vigorously,  reproduco   in  miniature  the 
tremendous  drama  of  the  storm. ^ 

As  nations  rose  in  civilization  these  fancies  put  on 
a  more  complex  form  and  a  more  poetic  fulness. 
Throughout  the  realm  of  the  Incas  the  Peruvians 
venerated  as  creator  of  all  things,  maker  of  heaven 
and  earth,  and  ruler  of  the  firmament,  the  god 
Ataguju.  The  legend  was  that  from  him  proceeded 
the  first  of  mortals,  the  man  Guamansuri,  who  de- 
scended to  the  earth  and  there  seduced  the  sister  of 
certain  Guachemines,  rayless  ones,  or  Darklings,  who 
then  possessed  it.  For  this  crime  they  destroyed 
him,  but  their  sister  proved  pregnant,  and  died  in  her 
labor,  giving  birth  to  two  eggs.  From  tliese  emerged 
the  twin  brothers,  Apocatequil  and  Piguerao. 
The  former  was  the  more  powerful.  By  touching 
the  corpse  of  his  mother  he  brought  her  to  life,  he 
drove  off  and  slew  the  Guachemines,  and,  directed 
by  Ataguju,  released  the  race  of  Indians  from  the 
soil  by  turning  it  up  with  a  spade  of  gold.  For  this 
reason  they  adored  him  as  their  maker.  He  it  was, 
they  thought,  who  produced  the  thunder  and  the 
lightning  by  hurling  stones  with  his  sling ;  and  the 
thunderbolts  that  fall,  said  they,  are  his  children. 
Few  villagjes  were  willinG^  to  bo  without  one  or  more 
of  these.  They  Avere  in  appearance  small,  round, 
smooth  stones,  but  had  the  admirable  properties  of 
securing  fertility  to  the  fields,  protecting  from  light- 
ning, and,  by  a  transition  easy  to  understand,  were  also 
adored  as  gods  of  the  Fire,  as  well  as  material  of  the 

^  Waitz,  Anthropologies  iii.   p.  417  ;  Miiller,  Am.  rrrelig.,  p. 
271. 


^ 


•*, 


.i*- 


166  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

passions,  and  were  capable  of  kindling  the  dangerous 
flames  of  desire  in  the  most  frigid  bosoms.  Therefore 
they  were  in  great  esteem  as  love  charms. 

Apocatequil's  statue  was  erected  on  the  mountains, 
with  that  of  his  mother  on  one  hand,  and  his  brother 
on  the  other.  "  He  was  Prince  of  Evil  and  the  most 
respected  god  of  the  Peruvians.  From  Quito  to 
Cuzco  not  an  Indian  but  would  give  all  he  possessed 
to  conciliate  him.  Five  priests,  two  stewards,  and 
a  crowd  of  slaves  served  his  image.  And  his  chief 
temple  was  surrounded  by  a  very  considerable  village 
Avhose  inhabitants  had  no  other  occupation  than  to 
wait  on  him."  In  memory  of  these  brothers,  twins 
in  Peru  were  always  deemed  sacred  to  the  lightning, 
'  and  when  a  woman  ui  even  a  llama  brought  them 
forth,  a  fast  was  held  and  sacrifices  offered  to  the 
tAvo  pristine  brothers,  with  a  chant  commencing  : 
A  chuchu  cacliiqu^  O  ThouAvho  causest  twins,  words 
mistaken  by  the  Spaniards  for  the  name  of  a  deit3\^ 

'  On  the  myth  of  Catequil  seo  particularly  the  Lettre  snr  les 
Superstitions  du  Perou,  p.  05  sqq.,  and  compare  IMontesinos, 
Aiicien  Perou,  chaps,  ii.,  xx.  The  letters  ^  and  j  do  not  exist 
in  Quichua, therefore  Ataguju  sliould  doubtless  rea.i\.  Ata-chuchu, 
which  means  lord,  or  ruler  of  the  twins,  from  ati  root  of  atini, 
I  am  able,  I  control,  and  cJiucJiu,  twins.  The  change  of  the 
root  ati  to  ata,  though  uncommon  in  Quichua,  occurs  also  in 
atnhualpa,  cock,  from  ali  and  hualpa,  fowl.  Apo-Catequil,  or 
as  given  by  Arriaga,  another  old  writer  on  Peruvian  idolatry, 
Apocatequilla,  I  take  to  be  properly  apu-ccatec-quilla,  which 
literally  means  cJiiefofthe  followers  of  the  moon.  Acosta  men- 
tions that  the  native  name  for  various  constollati  ns  was  cata- 
chillny  or  cntiicliillay,  doubtless  corruptions  of  ccatec  quilla, 
literally  "following  the  moon."  Catequil,  therefore,  the  dark 
spirit  of  the  storm  rack,  was  also  apTKopriately  enough,  and 


Jm 


^r4^^ 


M 


•**♦  ^ 


PERUVIAN  MYTHS. 


1«7 


Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  a  descendant  of  the  Incas, 
has  preserved  an  ancient  indigenous  poem  of  his  na- 
tion, presenting  the  storm  myth  in  a  different  form, 
which  as  undoubtedly  authentic  and  not  devoid  of 
poetic  beauty  I  translate,  preserving  as  much  as  pos- 
sible the  trochaic  tetrasyllable  verse  of  the  original 
Quichuar^ 

"  Beauteous  princess, 
Lo,  thy  brotliT 
Breaks  thy  vessel 
Now  in  fragments. 
From  the  blow  coma 
Thunder,  lightning-. 
Strokes  of  lightning. 
And  thou,  princess, 
Tiik'st  the  water, 
With  it  rainest. 
And  the  hail,  or 
Snow  dispensest. 
Viracocha, 
World  constructor, 

perhaps  primarily,  lord  of  the  night  and  stars.  Piguerao, 
where  tiie  g  appears  again,  is  probably  a  compound  of  piscUf 
bird,  and  uira,  white.  Guachemines  seems  clearly  the  word 
huachi,  a  ray  of  light  or  an  arrow,  with  the  negative  suffix 
ymana,  thus  meaning  rayless,  as  in  the  text,  or  ymana  may  mean 
an  excess  as  well  as  a  want  of  anything  beyond  what  is  natural, 
which  would  give  the  signification  "very  bright  shining." 
(Ilolguin,  Arte  de  la  Lemjua  Quicliua,  p.  106  :  Cuzco,  1607.)  I3 
this  sister  of  theirs  the  Dawn,  who,  us  in  the  Ilig  Veda,  brings 
forth  at  the  cost  of  her  own  life  the  white  and  dark  twins,  the 
Day  and  the  Night,  tlie  latter  of  whom  drives  from  the  heavens 
th3  far-shooting  arrows  of  light,  in  order  that  he  may  restore  his 
mother  again  to  life  ?  The  answer  may  for  the  present  be  de- 
f.u-red.  It  is  a  coincidence  perliaps  worth  mentioning  that  the 
Augustin  monk  who  is  our  principal  authority  for  this  legend 
mentions  two  other  twin  deities  Yauio  and  Yama,  whose  names 
are  alroiost  identical  with  the  twins  Yama  and  Yami  of  the 
Veda. 


■MHI 


\ 


168  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

"World  enliv'njr, 
'  To  this  office 

I  Thee  appointed, 

'I       Thee  created."! 


I 


In  this  pretty  waif  that  has  floated  down  to  ns 
from  the  wreck  of  a  literature  now  forever  lost,  there 
is  more  than  one  point  to  attract  the  notice  of  the 
antiquary.  He  may  find  in  it  a  hint  to  decijjher  those 
names  of  divinities  so  common  in  Peruvian  legends, 
Contici  and  Illatici.  Both  mean  "  the  Thunder  Vase," 
and  both  doubtless  refer  to  the  conception  here  dis- 
played of  the  phenomena  of  the  thunder-storm.^ 

Agaiji,  twice  in  this  poem  is  the  triple  nature  of 
the  storm  adverted  to.  This  is  observable  in  maL^y 
of  the  religions  of  America.  It  constitutes  a  sort  of 
Trinity  not  in  any  point  resembling  that  of  Chris- 
tianity, nor  yet  the  Trimurti  of  India,  but  the  only 
one  in  the  New  V^orld  the  least  degree  authenticated, 
and  which,  as  half  seen  by  ignorant  monks,  has  caused 
its  duo  amount  of  sterile  astonishment.     Thus,  in  the 

1  Hist,  des  Incas,  liv.  ii.  cap.  28,  and  corrected  iu  Mark- 
ham's  Quichua  Grammar. 

^  The  latter  is  a  compound  of  tici  or  ticcu,  a  vase,  and  ylla,  the 
root  of  yllani,  to  shine,  yllapatitac,  it  thunders  and  lightens. 
The  former  is  from  tici  and  cun  or  con,  whence  by  r(!duplication 
cun-un-im-an,  it  thunders.  From  cun  and  ii<ra,  brother,  is  prob- 
ably dei'ived  cunlur,  the  condor,  the  flying  thunder-cloud 
being  looked  u^jou  as  a  great  bird  also.  Dr.  "Waitz  has  pointed 
out  that  the  Araucanians  call  by  the  title  con,  the  messenger 
who  summons  their  chieftains  to  a  general  council.  The  Cu- 
,  a  Carib  tribe,  still  live  in  the  province  of  Darien.  Las 
<  tsas  says  the  chief  god  there  was  Chicun=principio  de  todo. 
(Hist.  Apolotjet.  MSS.  cap.  125).  The  Diet.  Galib.  gives  as 
Carib  for  thuu'ler  cono-  uerou.  The  syllable  again  appears  iu 
the  Carib,  Savacon,  the  thunder  God. 


THE  AMERICAN  TRINITY. 


169 


/rt,  the 
Ihtens. 
jation 
I prob- 
i-cloud 
bmted 

"         o 

Cu- 
Las 

Itoilo. 
■s  as 
L'S  iu 


Quiche  legends  we  read :  **  The  first  of  Hurakan  is 
the  lightning,  the  second  the  track  of  the  lightning, 
and  the  third  the  stroke  of  the  lightning;  and  these 
three  are  Hurakan,  the  Heart  of  the  Sky."  ^  It  reap- 
pears Avith  characteristic  uniformity  of  outline  in 
Iroquois  mythology.  Heno,  the  thunder,  gathers  the 
clouds  and  pours  out  the  warm  rains.  Therefore  he 
was  the  patron  of  husbandry.  He  was  invoked  at 
seed  time  and  harvest ;  and  as  purvej'or  of  nourish- 
ment he  was  addressed  as  grandfather,  and  his  wor- 
shippers styled  themselves  his  grandchildren.  He 
rode  throuu'h  the  heavens  on  the  clouds,  and  the 
thunderholts  wliich  split  the  forest  trees  were  the 
stones  he  hurled  at  his  enemies.  Tliree  assistants  were 
assigned  him,  whose  names  have  unfortunately  not 
been  recorded,  and  whose  offices  were  apparently 
similar  to  those  of  the  three  companions  of  Hurakan.'' 

So  also  the  Aztecs  supposed  that  Tlaloc,  god  of 
rains  and  the  waters,  ruler  of  the  terrestrial  paradise 
and  the  season  of  summer,  manifested  himself  under 
the  three  attributes  of  the  flash,  the  thunderbolt,  and 
the  thunder." 

But  this  conception  of  three  in  one  was  above  the 
comprehension  of  the  masses,  and  consequently  these 
deities  were  also  s^xjken  of  as  fourfold  in  nature,  three 
and  one.  JNIoreover,  as  has  already  been  pointed 
out,  the  thunder  god  was  usually  ruler  of  the  winds, 
and  tlius  another  reason  for  his  quadruplicate  nature 

1  Le  Livre  Sacn\  p.  0.     Tlie  name  of  the  lightning  iu  Qui- 
"ht-  IT  cnhul  ha,  lit(M*ally,  "fire  coming  from  water." 

2  Mor;'  lut,  Lear/ue  of  the  Iroquois,  p.   158. 

'  ''El  rav<'.  el  reldmpago,  y  el  trueno."  Gama,  Des.  de  las 
(L'Spiec'ras,  clQ.fii.  p.  70:  Mexico,  1832. 


170  MYTHS  OF  WATER,  FIRE,  AND  THUNDER-STORM. 

was  suggested.  Hurakan,  Haokah,  Tlaloc,  and  prob- 
ably Heno,  are  plural  as  well  as  singular  nouns,  and 
are  used  as  nominatives  to  verbs  in  both  numbers. 
Tlaloc  was  appealed  to  as  inhabiting  each  of  the  car- 
dinal points  and  every  mountain  top.  His  statue 
rested  on  a  square  stone  pedestal,  facing  the  east, 
and  had  in  one  hand  a  serpent  of  gold.  Ribbons  of 
silver,  crossing  to  form  squares,  covered  the  robe, 
and  the  shield  was  composed  of  feathers  of  four  col- 
ors, yellow,  green,  red,  and  blue.  Before  it  was  a 
vase  containing  all  sorts  of  grain ;  and  the  clouds 
were  called  his  companions,  the  Avinds  his  messen- 
gers.'^ As  elsewhere,  the  thunderbolts  were  believed 
to  be  flints,  and  thus,  as  the  emblem  of  fire  and  the 
storm,  this  stone  figures  conspicuously  in  their  myths. 
Tohil,  the  god  who  gave  the  Quiches  fire  by  shaking 
his  sandals,  was  represented  by  a  flint-stone.^  Such 
a  stone,  in  the  beginning  of  things,  fell  from  heaven 
to  earth,  and  broke  into  IGOO  pieces,  each  of  which 
sprang  up  a  god  ;  ^  an  ancient  legend,  which  shadows 
forth  the  subjection  of  all  things  to  him  who  gathers 
the  clouds  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  who 
thunders  with  his  voice,  who  satisfies  with  his  rain 
"  the  desolate  and  waste  ground,  and  causes  tie 
tender  herb  to  spring  forth."  This  is  the  germ  of 
the  adoration  of  stones  as  emblems  of  the  fecunda- 
ting rains.  This  is  w>.y,  for  example,  the  Navajos 
use  as  their  charm  for  rain  certain  long  round  stones, 


: 


^  Torquemada,  Monarqula  Indiana,  lib.  vi.  cap.  23.  Gama, 
ubi  sup.  ii.  76,  77. 
2  Brassour,  Le  Livre  Sacri,  Tntrod.  p.  cxxii. 
^  Tcrquemada,  ibid.,  lib.  vi.  cap.  41. 


THE  CLOUD  SERPENT. 


171 


>aji 


^•« 


w'hich  they  tliink  fall  from  the  cloud  when  it  thun- 
ders,^ 

Mixcoatl,  the  Cloud  Serpent,  or  Iztac-Mixcoatl, 
the  White  or  Gleaming  Cloud  Serpent,  said  to  have 
been  the  only  divinity  of  the  ancient  Chichimecs, 
held  in  high  honor  by  the  Nahuas,  Nicaraguans,  and 
Otomis,  and  identical  with  Taras,  supreme  god  of  the 
Tarascos  and  Camaxtli,  god  of  the  Teo-Chichimecs,  is 
another  personification  of  the  thunder-storm.  To 
this  day  this  is  the  familiar  name  of  the  tropical 
tornado  in  the  Mexican  language.'  lie  was  repre- 
sented, like  Jove,  with  a  bundle  of  arrows  in 
his  hand,  the  thunderbolts.  Both  the  Nahuas 
and  Tarascos  related  legends  in  wliich  he  figured 
as  father  of  the  race  of  man.  Like  other  lords 
of  the  lightning  he  was  worshipped  as  the  dis- 
penser of  riches  and  the  patron  of  traffic  ;  and  in  Ni- 
caragua his  image  is  described  as  being  ''  engraved 
stone :5,"^  probably  the  supposed  products  of  the 
thunder. 


:ain 

i\\ti 
of 
da- 
ijos 
les, 


1  Senate  Report  on  the  Indian  Tribes,  p.  358  :  Washington, 
18G7. 

2  Brassour,  Hist,  dn  Mexiquc,  i.  p.  201,  and  on  the  extent  of 
his  worship,  Waitz,  AnthropoL,  iv.  p.   144. 

*  Oviedo,  Hist,  du  Nicaragua,  p.  47. 


r 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  SUPEEME  GODS  OP  THE  EED  RACE. 

Analysis  of  American  culture  myths. — The  Manibozho  or  Michabo  of 
the  Algoukins  sliown  to  bo  an  imijcrsonatiou  of  Light,  a  liero  of  tho 
Dawn,  and  their  liigliest  deity. — Tlie  myths  of  loskelia  of  the  Iroquois, 
Viracoclia  of  the  Peruvian.s,  and  Quctzalcoatl  of  the  Toltecs  essentially 
the  same  as  that  of  Michalio. — Other  examples. — Ante-Columbian 
prophecies  of  the  advent  of  a  white  race  from  the  east  as  conquerors.— 
Rise  of  later  culture  myths  under  similar  forms. 

THE  pliilosopher  IMacliiavelli,  commenting  on  the 
books  of  Livy,  lays  it  clown  as  a  general  truth 
that  every  form  and  reform  has  been  brought  about 
by  a  single  individual.  Since  a  remorseless  criticism 
has  shorn  so  many  heroes  of  their  laurels,  our  faith 
in  the  maxim  of  the  great  Florentine  wavers,  and  the 
suspicion  is  created  that  the  popular  fancy  which 
personifies  under  one  figure  every  social  revolution 
is  an  illusion.  It  springs  from  that  tendency  to  hero 
worship,  ineradicable  in  the  heart  of  the  race,  which 
leads  every  nation  to  have  an  ideal,  the  imagined 
author  of  its  prosperity,  the  father  of  his  country, 
and  the  focus  of  its  legends.  As  has  been  hinted, 
research  is  not  friendly  to  their  renown,  and  dissi- 
pates thein  altogether  into  phantoms  of  the  brain,  or 
sadly  dims  the  lustre  of  their  fame.  Aiihnr,  Iniylit 
star  of  chivalry,  dwliwllon  lit  ii  Welsh  Hubaltern ;  the 
Cid  ('ainp»u\ilor,  defender  of  the  faith,  sells  his  SAVord 
fts  often  to  Aloslem  as  to  Christian,  and  sells  it  evey; 
while  Siegfried  and  Feridun  vanish  into  nothings. 


» 


f 


THE  STORY  OF  MICH  ABO. 


178 


tin 


'} 


Such  a  conclusion  will  not  at  first  be  accepted 
without  a  struggle.  The  historian  will  cling  to  what 
ho  has  been  used  to  regard  as  tYiQ  fact;  he  will  defend 
it  as  that  which  alone  is  fruitful  and  of  lasting  pow- 
er ;  ho  will  maintain  that  "  the  ideal  is  drawn  oriir- 
inally  from  examples;  "  that  nations  may  not  obtain 
lofty  conceptions  of  moral  truth  without  living  em- 
bodiments thereof.^  But  the  i)hilosopher  who  has 
closely  sifted  the  nature  of  mind  comes  to  a  different 
conclusion ;  he  fi.ids  the  ideal  is  drawn  from  within, 
not  given  from  without ;  he  says  with  the  Apostle 
"  In  the  be,'.;inning  was  the  Thought,"  Ev  ai>yyj  jjv  6 
Aopt:;;  and  iie  lays  down  the  maxim  that  "imitation 
has  no  place  in  morals."  ^  Scrutinizing  closely  the 
ideals  of  history,  he  discovers  these  heroes  to  bo 
lords  of  the  realms  of  pious  or  patriotic  fancy  only. 

As  elsewhere  the  world  over,  so  in  America,  many 
tribes  had  to  tell  of  such  a  personage,  some  such 
august  character,  who  taught  them  what  they*knew, 
the  tillage  of  the  soil,  the  properties  of  plants,  the 
art  of  picture  writing,  the  secrets  of  magic ;  who 
founded  their  institutions  and  established  their  relig- 
ions, who  governed  thorn  long  with  glory  abroad 
and  peac(?  at  home  ;  finally,  did  not  die,  but  like 
Frederick  Barbarossa,  CharlemiijJfne,  King  Arlliur, 
liinl  nil  MTciit  iiorooH,  vanlslt(M|  myrtleriously,  ami  si  III 
\iy&<ii  Hoiuuwhero,  ready  at  the  I'iulil  nioiiicut  to  return 
to  his  bobiviMJ  people  and  load  them  to  victory  and 
ha|)|)liies3.     HiiuU  lo  Ihu  Algonlilns  wan  Micluibo  or 

1  Sen  Mr.  Kirk's  romarlta  iu  hia  edition  of  Proscott'a   Cow 
qneM  of  Afexico,  i.  p.  O:}. 
'■*  Kant,  The  Metcphysicof  Ethics,  p.  19. 


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174  THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 

Manibozho,  to  the  Iroquois  loskelia,  Wasi  to  the 
Cherokees,  Taraoi  to  the  Caribs ;  so  the  Mayas  had 
Zam.  .1,  the  Toltecs  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Muyscas  Nem- 
queteba;  such  among  the  Qiiichuas  was  Viracocha, 
among  the  Mandans  Niimock-muckenah,  among  the 
Ilidatsa  Itamapisa.,  and  among  the  natives  of  the  Ori- 
noko  Amalivaca  ;  and  the  catalogue  could  be  extend- 
ed indefinitely. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  pronounce  upon  these 
heroes,  whether  they  belong  to  history  or  mythology, 
their  nation's  poetry  or  its  prose.  In  arriving  at  a 
conclusion  we  must  remember  that  a  fiction  built  on 
an  idea  is  infinitely  more  tenacious  of  life  than  a 
story  founded  on  fact.  Further,  that  if  a  striking 
similarity  in  the  legends  of  two  such  heroes  be  dis- 
covered under  circumstances  which  forbid  the  thought 
that  one  was  derived  from  the  other,  then  both  are 
probably  m}'thieal.  If  this  is  the  case  in  not  two  but 
in  half  a  dozen  instances,  then  the  probability  amounts 
to  a  certainty,  and  the  only  task  remaining  is  to 
explain  such  narratives  on  consistent  mythological 
principles.  If  after  sifting  out  all  foreign  and  later 
traits,  it  appears  that  when  first  known  to  Europeans, 
these  heroes  were  assigned  all  the  attributes  of  high- 
est divinity,  were  the  imagined  creators  and  rulers  of 
the  world,  and  mightiest  of  spiritual  powers,  then 
their  position  must  be  set  far  higher  than  that  of 
deified  men.  They  must  be  accepted  as  the  supreme 
gods  of  the  red  race,  the  analogues  in  the  western 
continent,  of  Jupiter,  Osiris,  and  Odin  in  the  eastern, 
and  whatever  opinions  contrary  to  this  may  have 
been  advanced  by  writers  and  travellers  must  be  set 
down  to  the  account  of  that  prevailing  ignorai:ce  of 


t 


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THE  STORY  OF  MIC II ABO. 


175 


American  mythology  which  has  fathered  so  many 
other  blunders.  To  solve  these  knotty  points  I  shall 
clioose  for  analysis  the  culture  myths  of  the  Algon- 
kins,  the  Iroquois,  the  Toltecs  of  Mexico,  and  the 
Quichuas  ^^r  Peruvians,  guided  in  my  choice  by  the 
fact  that  these  four  families  are  the  best  known,  and, 
in  many  points  of  view,  the  most  important  on  the 
continent. 

From  the  remotest  wilds  of  the  northwest  to  the 
coast  of  the  Atlantic,  from  the  southern  boundaries 
of  Carolina  to  the  cheerless  swamps  of  Hudson  Bay, 
the  Algonkins  were  never  tired  of  gathering  around 
the  winter  fire  and  repeating  the  story  of  Manil)ozho 
or  Michabo,  the  Great  Ilare.  With  entire  unanimity 
their  various  branches,  the  Powhatans  of  Virginia, 
the  Lenni  Lenapeof  the  Delaware,  the  warlike  hordes 
of  New  England,  the  Ottawas  of  the  far  north,  and 
the  western  tribes  perhaps  without  exce23tion,  spoke 
of  "  this  chimerical  beast,"  as  one  of  the  old  mission- 
aries calls  it,  as  their  common  ancestor.  The  totem 
or  clan  which  bore  his  name  was  looked  up  to  with 
peculiar  respect.  In  many  of  the  tales  which  the 
whites  have  preserved  of  Michabo  he  seems  half  a 
wizard,  half  a  simpleton.  He  is  full  of  pranks  and 
wiles,  but  often  at  a  loss  for  a  meal  of  victuals  ;  ever 
itching  to  try  his  arts  magic  on  great  beasts  and  often 
meeting  ludicrous  failures  therein ;  envious  of  the 
powers  of  others,  and  constantly  striving  to  outdo 
them  in  what  they  do  best;  in  short,  little  more 
than  a  malicious  buffoon  delighting  in  practical 
jokes,  and  abusing  his  superhuman  powers  for  selfish 
and  ignoble  ends.  But  tliis  is  a  low,  modern,  and 
corrupt  version  of  the  character  of  Michabo,  bearing 


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176  THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 


no  more  resemblance  to  his  real  and  ancient  one 
than  the  language  and  acts  of  our  Saviour  and  the 
apostles  in  the  coarse  Mysterj  Plays  of  the  Middle 
Ages  do  to  those  recordecf  by  the  Evangelists. 

What  he  really  was  we  must  seek  in  the  accounts 
of  older  travellers,  in  the  invocations  of  the  jossa- 
keeds  or  prophets,  and  in  the  part  assigned  to  him 
iu  the  solemn  mysteries  of  religion.  In  these  we 
find  him  portrayed  as  the  patron  and  founder  of  the 
m3da  woi-ihip,^  tha  inventor  of  picture  writing,  the 
father  and  guardian  of  their  nation,  the  ruler  of  the 
winds,  even  the  maker  and  preserver  of  the  world  and 
creator  of  the  sun  and  moon.  From  a  grain  of  sand 
brought  from  the  bottom  of  the  primeval  ocean,  he 
fashioned  the  habitable  land  and  set  it  floating  on 
the  waters,  till  it  grew  to  such  a  size  that  a  strong 
young  wolf,  running  constantly,  died  of  old  age  ere 
he  reached  its  limits.  Under  the  name  IMichabo  Ovi- 
saketchak,  the  Great  Hare  who  created  the  Earth,  he 
was  originally  the  highest  divinity  recognized  by 
them,  "  powerful  and  beneficent  beyond  all  others, 
maker  of  the  heavens  and  the  world."  He  was 
founder  of  the  medicine  hunt  in  which  after  appro- 
priate ceremonies  and  incantations  the  Indian  sleeps, 
and  Michabo  appears  to  him  in  a  dream,  and  tells 
him  where  he  may  readily  kill  game.  He  himself 
was  a  mighty  hunter  of  old;   one  of  liis  footsteps 


-«/*. 


'  The  meda  worship  is  the  ordinary  religious  ritual  of  the 
Algoukins.  It  consists  chiefly  in  exhibitions  of  legerdemain, 
and  in  conjuring  and  exorcising  demons.  AJossakeed  is  an 
inspired  prophet  who  deriva.s  hi^  pow!r  directly  from  the 
higher  spirits,  and  not  as  the  incdatoln,  by  instruction  and 
practice. 


THE  DEEDS  OF  MICHABO. 


177 


measured  eight  leagues,  the  Great  Lakes  were  the 
beaver  dams  he  built,  and  when  the  cataracts  im- 
peded his  progress  he  tore  them  away  with  his  hands. 
Attentively  watching  the  spider  spread  its  web  to 
trap  unwary  flies,  he  devised  the  art  of  knitting  nets 
to  catch  fish,  and  the  signs  and  charms  he  tested  and 
handed  down  to  his  descendants  are  of  marvellous 
efficacy  in  the  chase.  In  the  autumn,  in  "  the  moon 
of  the  falling  leaf,"  ere  he  composes  himself  to  his 
winter's  sleep,  he  fills  his  great  pipe  and  takes  a  god- 
like smoke.  The  balmy  clouds  float  over  the  hills 
and  woodlands,  filling  the  air  with  the  haze  of  the 
"  Indian  summer." 

Sometimes  he  was  said  to  dwell  in  the  skies  with 
his  brother  the  snow,  or,  like  many  great  spirits,  to 
have  built  his  wigwam  in  the  far  north  on  some  floe 
of  ice  in  the  Arctic  Ocean ;  while  the  Chipeways 
localized  his  birthplace  and  former  home  to  the  Is- 
land Michilimakinac  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior. 
But  in  the  oldest  accounts  of  the  missionaries  he 
was  alles^ed  to  reside  toward  the  east,  and  in  the 
holy  formula)  of  the  meda  craft,  when  the  winds  are 
invoked  to  the  medicine  lodge,  the  east  is  summoned 
in  his  name,  the  door  opens  in  that  direction,  and 
there,  at  the  edge  of  the  earth,  where  the  sun  rises, 
on  the  shore  of  the  infiuite  ocean  that  surrounds  the 
land,  he  has  his  house  and  sends  the  luminaries  forth 
on  their  daily  journey.^ 


,1 


^  For  these  particulars  see  the  Rel.  de  la  N'ouv.  France,  1667, 
p.  '!'^.,  1070,  p.  03  ;  Chai.jvoix,  Journal  Ilistoriqite,  p.  344  ; 
Schoolcraft,  Indian  Trihes,  v.  pp.  420  sqq.,  and  Alex.  Henry, 
Travs.  in  Canada  and  the  Ind.  Territories,  pp.  212  sqq.  These 
are  docidedly  the  best  references  of  the  many  that  could  be 

12  . 


I 


»M 


i 


: 


178       THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  LED  RACE. 

It  is  passing  strange  that  such  an  insignificant 
creature  as  the  rabbit  sliould  have  received  this  apo- 
theosis. No  explanation  of  it  in  the  least  satisfactory 
has  ever  been  offered.  Some  have  pointed  it  out  as  a 
senseless,  meaningless,  brute  worship.  It  leads  to  the 
suspicion  that  there  may  lurk  here  one  of  those  confu- 
sions of  words  which  have  so  often  led  to  confusion 
of  ideas  in  mythology.  Manibozho,  Nanibojou,  Mis- 
sibizi,  Michabo,  Messou,  all  variations  of  the  same 
name  in  different  dialects  rendered  according  to  dif- 
ferent orthographies,  scrutinize  them  closely  as  we 
may,  they  all  seem  compounded  according  to  well  as- 
certained laws  of  Algonkin  euphony  from  the  words 
corresponding  to  great  and  liare  or  rahhit^  or  the  first 
two  perhaps  from  spirit  and  hare  (miehi.,  great,  wahos, 
hare,  manito  e(;a6os,spirit  hare,  Chipeway  dialect),  and 
so  they  have  invariably  been  translated  even  by  the 
Indians  themselves.  But  looking  more  narrowly  at 
the  word,  it  is  clearly  capable  of  another  and  very  dif- 
ferent interpretation,  of  an  interpretation  which  dis- 
closes at  once  the  origin  and  the  secret  meaning  of 
the  whole  story  of  Michabo,  in  the  light  of  which  it  ap- 
pears no  longer  the  incoherent  fable  of  savages,  but  a 
true  myth,  instinct  with  nature,  j)regnant  with  matter, 
nowise  inferior  to  those  which  fascinate  in  the  chants 
of  the  Rig  Veda,  or  the  weird  pages  of  the  Edda. 

On  a  previous  page  I  have  emphasized  with  what 
might  have  seemed  superfluous  force,  how  prominent 
in  primitive  mythoIoa;y  is  the  east,  the  source  of  the 
morning,  the  day-spring  on  high,  the  cardinal  point 

furnished,  Peter  Jones'  History  of  the  OJibtcat/  Indians,  p.  Ho; 
Nic.  Perrot,  Mem.  stir VAmer.  Sept.  (1G65),  pp,  12,  19,  339, 
and  Blomes,  (Sto/e  o/*  A  is  J/oy".  Terr.,  p.  193. 


THE  STORY  OF  MICH  ABO. 


179 


which  determines  and  controls  all  others.  But  I  did 
not  lay  so  much  stress  on  it  as  others  have.  "  The 
^\hole  theogony  and  philosophy  of  the  ancient 
world,"  says  Max  Mliller,  "  centred  in  the  Dawn, 
the  mother  of  the  bright  gods,  of  the  Sun  in  his 
various  aspects,  of  the  morn,  the  day,  the  spring ; 
herself  the  brilliant  image  and  visage  of  immortality."  ^ 
Now  it  appears  on  attentivel  "  examining  the  Algon- 
kin  root  wab^  that  it  gives  rise  to  words  of  very 
diverse  meaning,  that  like  many  others  in  all  Ian* 
guages  while  presenting  but  one  form  it  represents 
ideas  of  wholly  unlike  origin  and  application,  that  in 
fact  there  are  two  distinct  roots  having  this  sound. 
One  is  the  initial  syllable  of  the  word  translated  hare 
or  rabbit,  but  the  other  means  white,  and  from  it  is 
derived  the  words  for  tlie  east,  the  dawn,  the  light, 
the  day,  and  the  morning.^  Beyond  a  doubt  this  is 
the  compound  in  the  names  Michabo  and  Manibozho 
which  therefore  mean  the  Great  Light,  the  Spirit  of 
Light,  of  the  Dawn,  or  the  ICast,  and  in  the  literal 
sense  of  the  word  the  Great  White  One,  as  indeed  he 
has  sometimes  been  called. 

In  this  sense  all  the  ancient  and  authentic  myths 

^  Science  nf  Language,  Second  series,  p.  518. 

^  Dialectic  forms  iu  Algoukin  for  white,  are  wabi,  wcipe,  wompi, 
wauhish,  oppai;  for  morning,  wapan,  w  tpaneh,  opali ;  for  east 
tonpa,  waubun,  waubamo ;  for  dawn,  tcapa,  waubun ;  for  day 
tvompan,  oppan :  for  light,  oppiiug ;  and  many  othei's  similar. 
In  the  Abnaki  dialect,  wnubighcn,  it  is  white,  is  the  customary 
idiom  to  express  the  breaking  of  the  day  (Vetromile,  The  Ab- 
nakis  and  their  History,  p.  27 :  New  York,  1860).  The  loss  in 
composition  of  the  vowel  sound  represented  by  the  English  w, 
and  in  the  French  writers  by  the  figure  8,  is  supported  by 
frequent  analogy. 


^ 


180       THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 

concerning  him  are  plain  and  full  of  meaning.  They 
divide  themselves  into  two  distinct  cycles.  In  the 
one  Michabo  is  the  spirit  of  light  who  dispels  the 
darkness  ;  in  the  other  as  chief  of  the  cardinal  points 
he  is  lord  of  the  winds,  prince  of  the  powers  of  the 
air,  whose  voice  is  the  thunder,  whose  weapon  the 
lightning,  the  supreme  figure  in  the  encounter  of  the 
air  currents,  in  the  unending  conflict  which  the  Dako- 
tas  described  as  waged  by  the  waters  and  the  winds. 
In  the  first  he  is  grandson  of  the  moon,  his  father 
is  in  the  West  Wind,  and  his  mother,  a  maiden,  dies  in 
giving  him  birth  at  the  moment  of  conception.  For 
the  moon  is  the  goddess  of  night,  the  Dawn  is  her 
daughter,  who  brings  forth  the  morning  and  perishes 
herseir  in  the  act,  and  the  West,  the  spirit  of  dark- 
ness as  the  East  is  of  light,  proceeds  and  as  it  were 
begets  the  latter,  as  the  evening  does  the  morning. 
Straightway,  however,  continues  the  legend,  the  son 
soucflit  the  unnatural  father  to  re  venire  the  death  of 
his  mother,  and  then  commenced  a  long  and  desperate 
struggle.  "  It  began  on  the  mountains.  The  West 
was  forced  to  give  ground.  Manibozho  drove  him 
across  rivers  and  over  mountains  and  lakes,  and  at 
last  he  came  to  the  brink  of  this  world.  '  Hold,'  cried 
he,  *my  son,  you  know  my  power  and  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  kill  me.'  "  ^  What  is  this  but  the  diurnal 
combat  of  light  and  darkness,  carried  on  from  what 
time  "  the  jocund  morn  stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty 
mountain  tops,"  across  the  wide  world  to  the  sunset, 
the  struggle  that  knows  no  end,  for  both  the  oppo- 
nents are  immortal  ?  ' 

1  Schoolcraft,  Algic  Researches,  i.  pp.  135-142. 


fcx 


THE  FIRST  FOUR  BROTHERS. 


ISl 


In  the  second,  and  evidently  to  the  native  mind 
more  important  cycle  of  legends,  he  was  represented 
as  one  of  four  brothers,  the  North,  the  South,  the 
East,  and  the  West,  all  born  at  a  birth,  whose  mother 
died  in  ushering  them  into  the  world ;  ^  for  hardly 
has  the  kindlincr  orient  served  to  fix  the  cardinfil 
points  ere  it  is  lost  and  dies  in  the  advancing  day. 
Yet  it  is  clear  that  he  was  something  more  than  a 
personification  of  the  cast  or  the  east  wind,  for  it  is 
repeatedly  said  that  it  was  ho  who  assigned  their 
duties  to  all  the  winds,  to  that  of  the  east  as  well  as 
the  others.  This  is  a  blending  of  his  two  characters. 
Here  too  his  life  is  a  battle.  No  lon^-er  with  his 
father,  indeed,  but  with  his  brother  Chakekenapolc, 
the  flint-stone,  Avliom  he  broke  in  pieces  and  scat- 
tered over  the  land,  and  changed  his  entrails  into 
fruitful  vines.  The  conflict  was  long  and  terrible. 
The  face  of  nature  was  desolated  as  by  a  tornado, 
and  the  gigantic  boulders  and  loose  rocks  found  on 
the  prairies  are  the  missiles  hurled  by  the  mighty  com- 


!  ( 


^  The  names  of  the  four  brothers,  Wabun,  Kabun,  Kabibo- 
nolcka,  and  Sliawano,  express  in  Algonkin  both  the  cardinal 
points  and  tlie  winds  which  blow  from  them.  In  another  ver- 
sion of  the  legend,  first  reported  by  Father  de  Smet  and  quoted 
by  Schoolcraft  without  acknowledgment,  they  are  Jsanaboojoo 
Chipiapoos,  Wabosso,  and  Chakekenapok.  Lederer  gives  the 
names  in  the  Oenock  dialect  in  Virginia  asPash,  Sepoy,  Aska- 
riu  and  Maraskarin  {Diaccveries,  p.  4).  He  calls  tlum  igno- 
rantly  "four  women."  AVhen  Captain  Argoll  visited  the  Po- 
tomac in  1010  a  chief  told  him  :  "  AVe  have  five  gods  in  all; 
our  chief  god  appears  often  unto  us  in  the  form  of  a  mighty 
great  hare  ;  the  other  four  have  no  visible  shape,  but  are  in- 
deed the  four  winds  which  keep  the  four  corners  of  the  earth." 
(Wm.  Strachey,  Historle  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  98.) 


'A'Mlll'-i'Bliia    <J.   U.  il!l|^-<mMWMi 


182 


THE  SUPREM'j:  gods  of  the  liED  RACE. 


V  ' 


batants.  Or  else  his  foe  was  the  glittering  prince 
of  serpents  whose  abode  was  the  lake ;  or  was  the 
shining  Manito  whoso  home  was  guarded  by  fiery 
serpents  and  a  deep  sea ;  or  was  the  great  king  of 
fishes ;  all  symbols  of  the  atmospheric  waters,  all 
figurative  descriptions  of  the  wars  of  the  elements. 
In  these  aifrays  the  thunder  and  lightning  are  at  his 
command,  and  with  them  he  destroys  his  enemies. 
For  this  reason  the  Chipeway  pictography  represents 
him  brandishing  a  rattlesnake,  the  symbol  of  the 
electric  flasli,^  and  sometimes  they  called  him  the 
Northwest  Wind,  which  in  the  region  they  inhabit 
usually  bringis  the  thunder-storms. 

As  ruler  of  the  winds  he  was,  like  Quetzalcoatl, 
father  and  protector  of  all  species  of  birds,  their 
symbols.**  He  was  patron  of  hunters,  for  their  course 
is  guided  by  the  cardinal  points.  Therefore,  when 
the  medicine  hunt  has  been  successful,  the  prescribed 
sign  of  gratitude  to  him  was  to  scatter  a  hai.dful  of 
the  animal's  blood  towards  each  of  these.^  As  day- 
light brings  vision,  and  to  see  is  to  know,  it  Avas  no 
fable  that  gave  him  as  the  author  of  their  arts,  their 
wisdom  and  their  institutions. 

In  effect,  his  story  is  a  world-wide  truth,  veiled 
under  a  thin  garb  of  fancy.  It  is  but  a  variation  of 
that  narrative  which  every  race  has  to  tell,  out  of 
gratitude  to  the  beneficent  Father  who  everywhere 
has  cared  for  His  children.  Michabo,  giver  of  life 
and  light,  creator  and  preserver,  is  no  apotheosis  of  a 

^  Narrative  of  John  Tanner,  p.  351.  , 

2  Schoolcraft,  Alrjic  Res.,  i.  p.  216. 

3  Narrative  of  John  Tanner,  p.  354. 


IROQUOIS  TRADITIONS. 


188 


prudent  chieftain,  still  less  the  fabrication  of  an  idle 
fancy  or  a  designing  priestcraft,  but  in  origin,  deeds, 
and  name  the  not  unworthy  personification  of  the 
purest  conceptions  they  possessed  concerning  the 
Father  of  All.  To  Him  at  early  dawn  the  Indian 
stretched  forth  his  hands  in  prayer  ;  and  to  the  sky 
or  the  sun  as  his  homes,  he  first  pointed  the  pipe  in 
his  ceremonies,  rites  often  misinterpi-eted  by  travel- 
lers as  indicative  of  sun  worship.  As  later  observers 
tell  us  to  this  day  the  Algonkin  prophet  builds  the 
medicine  lodgje  to  face  the  sunrise,  and  in  the  name 
of  Michabo,  who  there  has  his  home,  summons  the 
spirits  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  world  and  Gizhi- 
gooke,  the  day  maker,  to  come  to  his  fire  and  disclose 
the  hidden  things  of  the  distant  and  the  future  ;  so 
the  earliest  explorers  relate  that  when  they  asked  the 
native  priests  who  it  was  they  invoked,  what  demons 
or  familiars,  the  invariable  reply  was  "the  Kichi- 
gouai,  the  genii  of  light,  those  who  make  the  day."  ^ 
Our  authorities  on  Iroquois  traditions,  though  nu- 
merous enough,  are  not  so  satisfactory.  The  best, 
perhaps  is  Father  Brebeuf,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  who 
resided  amoni:j  the  Hurons  in  162(3.  Their  culture 
myth,  which  he  has  recorded,  is  strikingly  similar  to 
that  of  the  Algonkins.  Two  brothers  appear  in  it, 
loskeha  and  Tawiscara,  names  which  find  their  mean- 
ing in  the  Oneida  dialect  as  the  White  one  and  the 
Dark  one.^   They  were  twins,  born  of  a  virgin  mother, 


3 


1  Compare  the  Rel.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  1G34,  p.  14,  1637,  p. 
40,  with  S'^hoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  v.  p.  419.  Kichigouai  is  the 
sam3  word  as  nizhlgookc,  according  to  a  different  orthography. 

2  The  names  loskeha  nwd  TaSbcara  I  venture  to  identify  with 
ths  Oneida  owisske  or  owiska,  white,   and  tetiucalas  (tyokaraSy 


I-*I' 


184       THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 

wlio  died  in  giving  them  life.  Their  grandmother 
■\vas  the  moon,  called  by  the  Hurons  Ataensic,  a  word 
Avhich  signifies  literally  she  bathes  herself,  and  which, 
in  the  opinion  of  Father  liruyas,  a  most  competent 
authority,  is  derived  from  the  word  for  water.^ 

The  brothers  (quarrelled,  and  finally  came  to  blows ; 
the  former  using  the  horns  of  a  stag,  the  hitter  the 
wild  rose.  lie  of  the  weaker  weapon  was  very 
naturally  discomfited  and  sorely  wounded.  Fleeing 
for  life,  the  blood  gushed  from  him  at  every  step, 
and  as  it  fell  turned  into  flint-stones.  The  victor 
returned  to  his  grandmother,  and  established  his  lougo 
in  the- far  east,  on  the  borders  of  the  great  ocean, 
whence  the  sun  comes.  In  time  he  became  the  father 
of  mankind,  and  special  guardian  of  the  Iroquois. 
The  earth  was  at  first  arid  and  sterile,  but  he  de- 
stroyed the   gigantic  frog  which  ])ad  swallowed  all 

lewhgnrlars  Mohawk),  dark  or  darkness.  'J'he  prefix  i  to  owisske 
is  the  impersonal  third  person  singular;  the  suffix  ha  gives  a 
future  sense,  so  that  i-owmke-ha  or  iouskeha  means  "  it  is  going 
to  become  white."  Brebeuf  gives  a  similar  example  of  gaorij 
old;  a-gao7i-ha,  ilva  devenir  vieux  (Rel.  Nouv.  France,  1630,  p. 
09).  But  "  it  is  going  to  become  white,"  meant  to  the  Iroquois 
thrit  the  dawn  was  about  to  appear,  just  as  wanbighen,  it  is  wliite, 
did  to  the  Abnakis  (see  note  on  page  179),  and  as  the  Eskimos 
say,  kau  ma  wok,  it  is  white,  to  express  that  it  is  daylight 
(Richardson's  Vocab.  of  Labrador  Eskimo  in  his  Arctic  Expedi- 
tion). Therefore,  that  loskeha  is  an  impersonation  of  the  light 
oi  th'3  dawn  admits  of  no  dispute. 

^  The  orthography  of  Brebeuf  is  aataentsic.  This  may  be 
analyzed  as  follows:  root  aouen.  water;  prefix  at,  ily  a  queUjue 
chose  Id  dedans;  alaouen,  se  hnigner ;  from  which  comes  the 
form  ataouensere.  (SeeBruyas,  Rad.  Verb.  Iroquceor.,  pp.  30,  31.) 
Here  again  the  mythological  role  of  the  moon  as  the  goddess  of 
water  comes  distinctly  to  light. 


[ 


[ 


THE  MYTH  OF  lOSKEHA. 


185 


the  waters,  and  guided  the  torrents  into  smooth 
streams  and  hikes.^  The  woods  he  stocked  with 
game;  and  havinj]f  learned  from  the  great  tortoise, 
who  supports  the  world,  how  to  make  fire,  taught  his 
chiklren,  the  Indians,  this  indispensable  art.  He  it 
was  who  watched  and  watered  their  crops ;  and  in- 
deed, without  his  aid,  says  the  old  missionary,  quite 
out  of  patience  with  such  puerilities,  "  they  think 
they  could  not  boil  a  pot."  Sometiuies  tliey  spoke 
of  him  as  the  sun,  but  this  only  figuratively.'* 

From  other  writers  ot  early  date  we  learn  that  the 
essential  outlines  of  this  myth  were  received  by  the 
Tuscaroras  and  the  Mohawks,  and  as  the  proper 
names  of  the  two  brothers  are  in  the  Oneida  dialect, 
we  cannot  err  in  considering  this  the  national  legend 
of  the  Iroquois  stock.  There  is  strong  likelihood 
that  the  Taronhiawagon,  he  who  comes  from  the 
Sky,  of  the  Onondagjis,  who  Avas  their  supreme  God, 
who  spoke  to  them  in  dreams,  and  in  whose  honor 
the  chief  festival  of  their  calendar  was  celebrated 
about  the  winter  solstice,  was,  in  fact,  loskeha  under 
another  name.  ^    As  to  the  legend  of  the  Good  and 

^  This  offers  an  instance  of  the  uniformity  which  prevailed  in 
symbolism  in  the  New  "World.  The  Aztecs  adored  the  goddess 
of  water  under  the  figui'e  of  a  frog  carved  from  a  single  emerald; 
or  of  human  form,  but  holding  in  her  hand  the  leaf  of  a  water 
lily  ornamented  tvith  frogs.  (Brasseur,  Hist,  de  Mexique,  i.  p. 
324.) 

2  Rel.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  1G30,  p.  101. 

"  llel,  de  la  Nouv.  France,  1G71,  p.  17.  Cusic  spells  it  Taren* 
yawagon,  and  translates  it  Holder  of  the  Heavens.  But  the 
name  is  evidently  a  compound  of  garonhin,  sky,  softened  in  the 
Onondaga  dialect  to  taronhia  (see  Gallatin's  Vocabs.  under  the 
word  sky),  and  wag  in,  1  come. 


\ 


186   THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 


I 

> 


w 


Bad  MindH  given  \)y  Ciisic,  to  whicli  I  have  referred 
in  a  previous  chapter,  and  the  later  and  wlioUy 
spurious  mytli  of  Hiawatha,  first  made  public 
by  Mr.  Clark  in  his  History  of  Onondaga  (1849), 
and  which,  in  the  graceful  poem  of  liongfellow, 
is  now  familiar  to  the  world,  they  are  but  pale 
and  incorrect  reflections  of  the  early  native  tradi- 
tions. 

So  strong  is  the  resemblance  loskeha  bears  to 
Michabo,  that  v/hat  has  ])een  said  in  explanation  of 
the  latter  will  be  sufficient  for  both.  Yet  I  do  not 
imagine  that  the  one  was  copied  or  borrowed  from 
the  other.  We  cannot  be  too  cautious  in  adopting 
such  a  conclusion.  The  two  nations  were  remote  in 
everything  but  geographical  position.  I  call  to 
mind  another  similar  myth.  In  it  a  mother  is  also 
said  to  have  brought  forth  twins,  or  a  pair  of  twins, 
and  to  have  paid  for  them  with  her  life.  Again  the 
one  is  described  as  the  bright,  the  other  as  the  dark 
twin  ;  again  it  is  said  that  they  struggled  one  with 
the  other  for  the  mastery.  Scholars,  likewise,  have 
interpreted  the  mother  to  mean  the  Dawn,  the  twins 
either  Light  and  Darkness,  or  the  Four  Winds.  Yet 
this  is  not  Algonkin  theology;  nor  is  it  at  all  related 
to  that  of  the  Iroquois.  It  is  the  story  of  Sarama  in 
the  Rig  Veda,  and  was  written  in  Sanscrit,  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Himalayas,  centuries  before 
Homer. 

Such  uniformity  points  not  to  a  common  source  in 
history,  but  in  psychology.  Man,  chiefly  cognizant 
of  his  existence  through  his  senses,  thought  with  an 
awful  horror  of  the  night  which  deprived  him  of  the 
use  of  one  and  foreshadowed  the  loss  of  all.     There- 


I 


GOD  IS  LIGHT. 


187 


I 


fore  light  and  life  were  to  him  aynonymous ;  there- 
fore all  religions  promise  to  lead 

•' From  night  to  light, 
From  night  to  heavenly  light ; " 

therefore  lie  who  rescues  is  ever  the  Light  of  the 
World;  tlierefore  it  is  said  "to  the  upright  ariseth 
light  in  darkness  ; "  therefore  everywhere  the  kind- 
ling East,  the  pale  Dawn,  is  the  embodiment  of  his 
hopes  and  the  eentre  of  his  reminiscences.  Who 
shall  say  that  his  instinct  led  him  here  astray  ?  For 
is  not,  in  fact,  all  life  dependent  on  light  ?  Do  not 
all  those  marvellous  and  subtle  forces  known  to  the 
older  chemists  as  the  imponderable  elements,  without 
which  not  even  the  inorganic  crystal  is  possible,  pro- 
ceed from  the  rays  of  light  ?  Let  us  beware  of  that 
shallow  science  so  ready  to  shout  P^ureka,  and  reve- 
rently acknowledge  a  mysterious  intuition  here  dis- 
played, which  joins  with  the  latest  conquests  of  the 
human  mind  to  repeat  and  emphasize  that  message 
which  the  Evangelist  heard  of  the  Spirit  and  declar- 
.ed  unto  men,  that  "  God  is  Light."  ^ 

Both  these  heroes,  let  it  be  observed,  live  in  the 
uttermost  east ;  both  are  the  mythical  fathers  of  the 


1  '0  Ofo;  ^wr  PTH,  The  First  Epistle  General  of  John,  i.  5. 
In  curious  analogy  to  these  myths  is  that  of  th»3  Eskimos  of 
Greenland.  In  the  beginning,  they  relate,  were  two  brothers, 
one  of  whom  said  :  *'  There  shall  be  night  and  there  shall  bo 
day,  and  men  shall  die,  one  after  another."  But  the  second 
said,  "  There  shall  be  no  day,  but  oidy  night  all  the  time,  and 
men  shall  live  forever."  Tli -y  had  a  long  struggle,  but  liere 
once  more  he  who  loved  darkness  rather  than  light  was  A/orsted, 
and  the  day  triumi)hod.  (Xnchrichten  von  Gr'dnlmnl  arm  eiriem 
Tagehnclie  rom  BiscJinf  Paul.  Erjede,  p.  157  :  Kopenhagen,  1790, 
The  date  of  the  entry  is  1738.) 


■-■■■—^-' — '"TTimrr 


II 


188        THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 

race.  To  the  east,  therefore,  should  these  nations 
have  pointed  as  their  original  dwelling  place.  This 
they  did  in  spite  of  history.  Cusic,  who  takes  up 
the  story  of  the  Iroquois  a  thousand  years  before  the 
Christian  era,  locates  them  first  in  the  most  eastern 
region  they  ever  possessed ;  while  the  Algonkins 
with  one  voice  called  those  of  their  tribes  living 
nearest  the  rising  sun  Abnakis,  our  ancestors  at  the 
east,  or  at  the  dawn ;  literally  our  white  ancestors.* 
I  designedly  emphasize  this  literal  rendering.  It 
reminds  one  of  the  white  twin  of  Iroquois  legend, 
and  illustrates  how  the  color  white  came  to  be  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  morning  light  and  its 
beneficent  effects.  Moreover,  color  has  a  specific 
effect  on  the  mind ;  there  is  a  music  to  the  eye  as 
well  as  to  the  ear ;  and  white,  which  holds  all  hues 
in  itself,  disposes  the  soul  to  all  pleasant  and  ele- 
vating emotions.^  Not  fashion  alone  bids  the  bride 
wreathe  her  brow  with  orange  flowers,  nor  was  it  a 
mere  figure  of  speech  that  led  the  inspired  poet  to 
call  his  love  "fairest  among  women,"  and  to  pro- 
phecy a  Messiah  "  fairer  than  the  children  of  men," 
fulfilled  in  that  day  when  He  appeared  "  in  garments 
so  white  as  no  fuller  on  earth  could  white  them." 

No  nation  is  free  from  the  power  of  this  law. 
"  White,"  observed  Adair  of  the  southern  Indians, 

^  I  accept  without  hesitation  the  derivation  of  this  word,  pro- 
posed and  defended  by  that  accomplished  Algonkin  scholar, 
the  Rev.  Eugene  Vetromile,  from  wanb,  white  or  east,  and 
naghi  ancestors  {The  Aunakis  and  their  History ^  p.  29:  New 
York,  ISOG). 

2  White  light,  remarks  Goethe,  lias  in  it  something  cheerful 
and  ennobling;  it  possesses  "  eine  hoitere,  niuntere,  sanft 
reizende  Kigenschaft."     Farbeitlehre,  see's.  700,  770. 


THE  PO  WER  OF  WHITENESS. 


189 


pro- 


»> 


law. 
lians, 

.,  pro- 
[liolar, 
[,  and 

New 

sanf  t 


"  is  their  fixed  emblem  of  peace,  happiness,  prosperity, 
purity,  and  holiness."  ^  Their  priests  dressed  in  white 
robes,  as  did  those  of  Peru  and  Mexico ;  the  kings 
of  the  various  spjcies  of  animals  were  all  supposed 
to  be  white ;  ^  the  cities  of  refuge  established  as 
asylums  for  alleged  criminals  by  the  Cherokees  in 
the  manner  of  the  Israelites  were  called  "  white 
towns,"  and  for  sacrifices  animals  of  this  color  were 
ever  most  highly  esteemed.  All  these  sentiments 
were  linked  to  the  dawn.  Language  itself  is  proof 
of  it.  Many  Algonkin  words  for  east,  morning,  dawn, 
day,  light,  as  we  have  ah-eady  seen,  are  derived  from 
a  radical  signifying  ivhite.  Or  we  can  take  a  tongue 
nowise  related,  the  Quiche,  and  find  its  words  for 
east,  dawn,  morning,  light,  bright,  glorious,  happy, 
noble,  all  derived  from  zak.,  white.  We  read  in  their 
legends  of  the  earliest  men  that  they  were  ''  white 
children,"  "  white  sons,"  leading  "  a  white  life  be- 
yond the  dawn,"  and  the  creation  itself  is  attributed 
to  the  Dawn,  the  Wliite  one,  the  Wliite  sacrificer  of 
of  Blood.^  But  why  insist  upon  the  point  wlien  in 
European  tongues  we  find  the  daybreak  called  Caube^ 
alva,  from  albus^  white  ?  Enough  for  the  purpose  if 
the  error  of  those  is  manifest  who,  in  such  expres- 
sions, would  seek  support  fur  any  theoiy  of  ancient 


^  Ilixt.  of  the  N.  Am.  Jiulians,  p.  159. 

'^  La  llontan,  Voi/.  ddns  VAmer.  Sept.,  ii.  p.  42. 

3  "  Blanco  pizote,"  Ximenes,  p.  4.  Vocabulario  QiticJiS,  s.  V. 
zal>:  In  the  far  north  the  Eskimo  tongue  presents  the  same 
analogy.  Day,  morning,  bright,  light,  liglitning,  all  are  from 
th'>  same  root  (k-ati),  signifying  Avhite  (Kiohardson,  Vocab.  of 
Labrador  Fskimo).  So  in  Ilidatsa,  from  liatl.  to  grow  light,  come 
ohati  white,  ama/iati  to  shine,  etc.  (Matthews,  Ilidatsa  Grammar). 


100  THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 


European  immigration;  enough  if  it  displays  the 
true  moaning  of  those  traditions  of  the  advent  of  be- 
nevolent visitors  of  fair  complexions  in  ante-Colum- 
bian times,  which  both  Algonkins  and  Iroquois  ^  had 
in  common  with  many  other  tribes  of  the  western 
continent.  Their  exj)lanation  will  not  be  found  in 
the  annals  of  Japan,  the  triads  of  the  Cymric  bards, 
nor  the  sages  of  Icelandic  skalds,  but  in  the  propen- 
sity of  the  human  mind  to  attribute  its  own  origin 
and  culture  to  that  white-shining  orient  where  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  arc  daily  born  in  renovated  glory, 
to  that  fair  mother,  who,  at  the  cost  of  her  own  life, 
gives  light  and  joy  to  the  world,  to  the  brilliant  womb 
of  Aurora,  the  glowing  bosom  of  the  Dawn. 

She  is  the  common  mother  Avhom  the  western  Es- 
kimos call  Sidue,  the  daughter  of  their  supreme  be- 
ing Anguta,  and  from  her  proceeded  all  things  having 
life,  while  her  father  made  inorcranic  matter.'^ 

The  Salish,  Nesquallies  and  Yakinias  on  the  North- 
west Coast  refer  to  her  as  "  the  daughter  of  the  sun," 
the  spouse  of  the  primeval  bird  Yehl,  the  master  of 
the  winds,  and  appeal  to  her  as  mother  of  their  race.^ 

In  Haiti  her  name  was  Itaba-tahuana;  she  was  a 
virgin  who  died  in  bringing  into  the  world  four 
brothers  at  a  birth,  who  caused  the  Deluge,  and  mar- 
rying the  four  winds  begat    the   nations    of  men.* 

^  Some  fi-agnieiits  of  them  may  bo  found  in  Campanlus,  Arc. 
of  New  Sice'len,  1G50,  book  iii.  cliap.  11,  and  in  Byrd,  T/ie 
West()ver^[(vn(f!(•ript)l,  1733,  p.  82.  They  Avero  in  both  instances 
alleged  to  have  been  white  and  bearded  men,  the  latter  probably 
a  later  trait  in  the  legend. 

2  C.  F.  ]hi\],  Arctic  Researchr^s,  p.  571. 

3  M.  Macfie,  Vancouver's  Islmuf,  &c.,  p.  454. 

*  D.  G.  Brinton,     The  Arawack  Language.,  &c.  p.  17.     To  the 


"^^WM 


CON  AND  PACHACAMA. 


191 


of 

Is  a 
)ur 
tar- 
m.* 

\cc. 
Vrhe 
lices 
Ibly 


the 


And  thus  she    meets  us  from    the  equator   to   tho 
3ole. 
Even  the  complicated  mythology  of  Peru  yields  to 


\ 


tl 


le  judicious  application  of  these  principles  of  inter- 
pretation. Its  peculiar  obscurity  arises  from  the  policy 
of  the  Incas  to  blend  the  religions  of  conquered 
provinces  with  their  own.  Thus  about  1350  the  Inca 
Pachacutec  subdued  the  country  about  Lima  wliere 
the  worship  of  Con  and  Pachacama  prevailed.'  Tlie 
local  myth  represented  these  as  father  and  son,  or 
brothers,  children   of   the   sun.     They   were  witlioiit 

student  of  mythology  I  would  point  out  the  similarity  of  thesT 
myths  to  thos;i  of  the  four  dwarfs,  Austri,  Vestri,  Sudri  and 
Nordri,  who  support  the  sky,  and  the  maiden  Ostara  (from  wlioiu 
comes  our  name  of  EnMer  Sunday),  often  associated  with  IIkmu 
in  ancient  (ijrman  mythology.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted 
that  the  mytli  of  Ostara  remains  so  incomplete. 

^  Con  or  Can  I  liave  already  explained  to  mean  thunder, 
Con  iici,  the  mytliical  thunder  vase.  Pachacamh,  is  doubtless,  as 
M.  Leonce  Angraud  has  suggested,  from  jy^/jac/m,  source,  and 
cami^^  all,  tho  Source  of  All  things  (Desjardins,  Le  Perou  av/mt 
la  Conq.  Espnf^nole,  p.  2'i,  note).  But  he  and  all  other  writ  -rs 
have  been  in  error  in  considering  this  identical  with  PacJiacd- 
mac,  nor  can  tho  latter  mean  creator  of  the  tcorld,  as  it  has  con- 
stantly been  translated.  It  is  a  participial  adjective  from 
parha,  place,  especially  the  world,  and  camac,  present  participle 
of  camani,  I  animate,  from  which  also  comes  camakenc,  the  soul, 
and  means  animating  the  world.  It  was  never  used  as  a  proper 
}iame.  The  following  trochaic  lines  from  the  Quichua  poem 
translated  in  the  previous  chapter,  show  its  true  meaning  and 
correct  accent: 

Pachfi  rurac.  World  creating. 

Pacha  camac,  World  animating. 

Viracoclia,  Viracocha. 

Camasunqui,  He  animates  thee. 

The  last  word  is  the  second  transition,  present  tense,  of  cam,' 
ani,  while  camac  is  its  present  participle. 


irn' 


19S 


THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 


flesli  or  blood,  impalpable,  invisible,  and  incredibly 
swift  of  foot.  Con  first  possessed  the  land,  but  Pacha- 
cam\  attacked  and  drove  him  to  the  north.  Irritated 
at  his  defeat  he  took  with  him  the  rain,  and  conse- 
quently to  this  day  the  sea-coast  of  Peru  is  largely  an 
arid  desert.  'Now  when  we  are  informed  that  the 
south  wind,  that,  in  other  words,  which  blows  to  the 
north,  is  the  actual  cause  of  the  aridity  of  the  lowlands,^ 
and  consider  the  light  and  airy  character  of  these 
antagonists,  we  cannot  hesitate  to  accept  this  as  a 
myth  of  the  winds.  The  name  of  Con  tt(^i,  the  Thun- 
der Vase,  was  indeed  applied  to  Viracocha  in  later 
times,  but  they  were  never  identical.  Viracocha 
was  the  culture  hero  of  the  ancient  Aymara-Quichua 
stock.  He  was  more  than  that,  for  in  their  creed  he 
was  creator  and  possessor  of  all  things.  Lands  and 
herds  were  assigned  to  other  gods  to  suj)port  their 
temples,  and  offerings  were  he.aped  on  their  altars, 
but  to  him  none.  For,  asked  the  Incas:  '"Shall the 
Lord  and  Master  of  the  whole  v.^orld  need  these  things 
from  us  ?  "  "  To  him,"  says  Acosta,  "  they  did  attribute 
the  chief  power  and  commandement  over  all  things; " 
and  elsewhere  "  in  all  this  realm  the  chief  idoll  they 
did  worship  was  Viracocha,  and  after  him  the  Sunne."'' 
Ere  sun  or  moon  was  made,  he  rose  from  the  bosom 
of  Lake  Titicaca,  and  presided  over  the  erection  of 
those  wondrous  cities  whose  ruins  still  dot  its  islands 
and  western  shores,  and  whose  history  is  totally  lost  in 
the  ni'j^ht  of  time.  He  himself  constructed  these  lu- 
minaries  and  placed  them  in  the  sky,  and  then  peopled 

^  UUon,  Mewoires  Ph'dosophiquea  sur  V Ainerique,  i.  p.  105. 
2   Aco.stii.  Jlist.  of  the  New  World,  bk.  v.  chap.  4,  bk.  vi.  ohap. 
19,  Eug.  trans.,  1701. 


THE  STORY  OF  VIHACOCHA. 


t) 
193 


mgs 


they 

Isom 
tnof 

ttin 
lu- 
)led 


[hap. 


the  earth  with  its  present  inhahitants..  From  the 
lake  he  journeyed  wostAvard,  not  without  adventures, 
for  he  was  attacked  with  murderous  intent  oy  the 
beings  whom  he  had  created.  When,  however,  scorn- 
ing such  unequal  combat,  he  had  manifested  hi^  power 
by  hurling  the  lightning  on  the  hill-sides  and  consum- 
ing the  forests,  they  recognized  their  maker,  and 
humbled  themselves  before  him.  He  was  reconciled, 
and  taught  them  arts  and  agriculture,  institutions  and 
religion,  meriting  the  title  they  gave  him  of  Pacliaij- 
aoliaeli'io^  teacher  of  all  things.  At  last  he  disappear- 
ed in  the  western  ocean.  Four  personages,  comj^anions 
or  sons,  were  closely  connected  with  him.  The}'  roi-.e 
together  with  liim  from  the  lake,  or  else  were  his  first 
creations.  These  are  the  four  mythical  civilizers  of 
Peru,  who  another  legend  asserts  emerged  from  the 
cave  Pacarin  tampu,tho  Lodgings  of  the  Dawn.*  To 
these  Viracocha  gave  the  earth,  to  one  the  north,  to 
another  the  south,  to  a  third  the  east,  to  a  fourth  the 
west.  Their  names  are  very  variously  given,  but  as 
they  have  already  been  identified  Avith  the  four  winds, 
we  can  omit  their  consider.xtion  here.^     Tradition,  as 

^  Tho  iiamo  is  dorived f rom  tampu,  corvnptt  J  by  tlie  Spaniards 
to  tcnnbo,  an  inn,  and  paccai'i  morning',  or  pnccarin,  it  dawns, 
which  also  has  the  fig-nrative  signification,  it  is  horn.  It  may 
tlierefore  mean  either  Lodgings  of  the  Dawn,  or  as  the  Spaniai'ds 
usually  translated  it,  House  of  Birth,  or  Production,  Cum  de 
Produchnichto. 

^  The  names  given  by  Balboa  {Hht.  du  Pcrou,  p.  4)  and 
Montesinos  (^Ancien  Perou,  p.  5)  are  Manco,  Cacha,  Auca,  Uchu. 
The  meaiimg  of  Manco  is  unknown.  The  others  signify,  in 
their  order,  messengei*,  enemy  or  traitor,  and  the  little  one.  The 
myth  of  Viracocha  is  given  in  its  most  antique  form  by  Juau 
de  Betauzos,  in  the  Historia  de  Ins  Inyas,   compiled  in  the  first 


I 


\fi 


\ 


,.  !  S 


104  THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 

has  lightly  been  observed  by  tlie  Tnca  Garcilasso  de 
la  Vega,^  transferred  a  portion  of  the  story  of  Viracocha 
to  Manco  Capac,  first  of  the  historical  Incas.  King 
jManco,  however,  was  a  real  character,  the  Rudolph 
of  Hapsburg  of  their  reigning  family,  and  flourished 
about  the  eleventh  century. 

There  is  a  general  resemblance  between  this  story 
and  that  of  Michabo.  Both  precede  and  create  the 
sun,  both  journey  to  the  west,  overcoming  opposition 
with  the  thunderbolt,  both  divide  the  world  between 
the  four  winds,  both  were  the  fathers,  gods,  and 
teachers  of  their  nations.  Nor  does  it  cease  here. 
Michabo,  I  have  shown,  is  the  white  spirit  of  the 
Dawn.  Viracocha,  all  authorities  translate  "  the  fat 
or  foam  of  the  sea."  The  idea  conveyed  is  of  white- 
ness, foam  being  called  fat  from  its  color.^  So  true 
is  this  that  to-day  in  Peru  white  men  are  called  vira- 
cochas^  and  the  early  explorers  constantly  received 
the  same  epithet.'  The  name  is  a  metaphor.  The 
dawn  rises  above  the  horizon  as  the  snowy  foam  on 
the  surface  of  a  lake.  As  the  Algonkins  spoke  of 
the  Abnakis,  their  white  ancestors,  as  the    Innuita 

years  of  the  conquest  from  tae  original  songs  and  legends.  Jt  is 
quoted  in  Garcia,  Origen  de  los  Indios,  lib.  v.  cap.  7.  Balboa, 
Montesinos,  Acosta,  and  others  have  also  furnished  me  soma 
incidtMits.  Whether  Atachuchu  mentioned  in  the  last  chaptc^r 
was  not  another  name  of  Viracocha  may  well  be  questioned.  It 
is  every  way  probable.  Las  Casas  (Hist.  Apol.  de  las  India^^ 
cap.  125)  gives  the  names  of  the  two  contestants  as  Conditi- 
Viracocha  and  his  son  Taguapica- Viracocha. 
^  Hist,  des  Incas,  liv.  iii.  chap.  25. 

2  It  is  compounded  of  vira,  fat,  foam  (which  perhaps  is  akin  t) 
ynrac,  white),  and  cocha,  a  pond  or  lake. 

3  See  Desjardins,  Le  Perou  arant  la  Conq.  Espagnole,  p.  67. 


I 


i 


THE  MYTH  OF  QUETZALCOATL. 


196 


tti- 


t) 


^s 


assert  the  men  first  made  were  white  but  gave  place 
to  those  of  their  own  color,^  as  in  Mexican  legends 
the  early  Toltecs  were  of  fair  complexion,  so  the 
Aymaras  sometimes  called  the  first  four  brothers 
viracochas,  white  men.''    It  is  the  ancient  story  how 

«  Light 
Sprung  from  the  deep,  and  from  her  native  east 
To  journey  through  the  airy  gloom  began." 

The  central  figure  of  Toltec  mythology  is  Quetzal- 
coatl.  Not  an  author  on  ancient  Mexico  but  has 
something  to  say  about  the  glorious  days  when  he 
ruled  over  the  land.  No  one  denies  him  to  have 
been  a  god,  the  god  of  the  air,  highest  deity  of  the 
Toltecs,  in  whose  honor  was  erected  the  pyramid  of 
Cholula,  grandest  monument  gf  their  race.  But 
many  insist  that  he  was  at  first  a  man,  some  deified 
king.  There  were  in  truth  many  Quetzalcoatls,  for 
his  high  priest  always  bore  his  name,  but  ho  himself 
is  a  pure  creation  of  the  fancy,  and  all  his  alleged 
history  is  notliing  but  a  myth. 

His  emblematic  name,  the  Bird-Serpent,  and  his 
rebus  and  cross  at  Palenque,  I  have  already  explained. 
Others  of  his  titles  were,  Ehecatl,  the  air ;  Yolcuat, 
the  rattlesnake ;  Tohil,  the  rumbler ;  Huemac,  the 
strong  hand. ;  Nani  he  hecatle,  lord  of  the  four  winds ; 
Tlaviz  calpan  tecutli,  lord  of  the  light  of  the  dawn.' 
The  same  dualism  reappears  in  him  that  has  been 

1  C.  F.  Hall,  Arctic  Researches,  p.  5G6.  These  first  men  were 
called  Kaudluna,  from  the  root  Kau,  white,  morning,  etc. 

2  Goniara,  Hist,  de  las  Indias,  cap.  119,  in  Miiller. 

^  *'  Propriamente  es  la  primera  claridad  que  aparecitf  en  el 
mundo."  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  p.  205.  This  codex  ap- 
peared in  the  ArcTiivea  PaUographiques. 


f 


106 


THE  SUPIiEME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 


noted,  ill  liis  analogues  elsewhere.     IIo  is  botli  lord 
of  the  eastern  light  and  the  winds. 

As  the  former,  ho  was  born  of  a  virgin  in  the  land 
of  Tula  or  Tlapallan,  in  the  distant  Orient,  and  was 
high  priest  of  that  hapjiy  realm.  The  morning  star 
was  his  symbol,  and  the  temple  of  Cholula  was  dedi- 
cated to  him  expressly  as  the  author  of  light.^  As 
by  days  we  measure  time,  ho  was  the  alleged  inventor 
of  the  calendar.  Like  all  the  dawn  heroes,  he  too 
was  represented  as  of  white  com2)lexion,  clothed  in 
long  white  robes,  and,  as  most  of  the  Aztec  gods,  with 
a  full  and  flowing  beard.'^  When  his  earthly  v/ork 
was  done  he  too  returned  to  .the  east,  assigning  as  a 
reason  that  the  sun,  the  ruler  of  Tlapallan,  demanded 
his  jiresenee.  But  the  real  motive  was  that  he  had 
been  overcome  by  Tezeatlipoca,  otherwise  called 
Yoallichecatl,  the  wind  or  spirit  of  night,  who  had  de- 
S'^endod  from  heaven  by  a  spider's  Aveb  and  ja'csentcd 
his  rival  with  a  draught  pretended  to  confer  immor- 
tality, but,  in  fact,  producing  uncontrollable  longing 

^  Brasseur,  Hint,  de  2Ijxique,  i.  p.  002. 

2  Tlioro  i.s  110  reason  to  lay  any  stress  upon  this  featui'O. 
r>oa''(l  wns  notliing  iincoinmoix  among  tho  Aztecs  and  many 
other  nations  of  the  Xow  AVorkl.  It  was  held  to  add  dignity  to 
tho  appearance,  and  therefore  Sahagun,  in  his  description  of 
tho  Mexican  idols,  repeatedly  alludes  to  their  beards,  and  Miiller 
quotes  various  author! i^es  to  show  that  tho  priests  wore  them 
long  and  full  (Amer.  Urreliglonen,  p.  429).  Xotonly  was  Quct- 
zalcoatl  himself  reported  to  liavebcenof  faircomplexion — white 
indeed — but  the  Creole  historian  Txtlilxochitl  says  the  old  legeiK^s 
asserted  that  all  tho  Toltecs,  natives  of  Tollan,  or  Tula,  as  their 
name  signifies,  were  so  likewise.  StHl  more,  Aztlan,  the  tradi- 
tional home  of  the  Nuhuas,  or  Aztecs  proper,  means  literally  the 
white  land,  uccordingto  one  of  our  best  authorities  (JJuschmauu, 
Ueher  die  Azteldi^chcn  Ortsnamtn,  p.  (512  :  Berlin,  1802). 


I. 


T 


r; 


4" 


r 


THE  MYTH  OF  QUETZALCOATL. 


ir't 


197 


for  home.  For  the  wind  and  the  light  both  depart 
when  the  gloaming  draws  near,  or  when  the  clouds 
spread  their  dark  and  shadowy  webs  along  the  moun- 
tains, and  pour  the  vivifying  rain  upon  the  fields. 

In  his  other  character,  he  was  begot  of  the  breath 
of  Tonacateotl,  god  of  our  flesh  or  subsistence,^  or 
(according  to  Gomara)  was  the  son  of  Iztac  Mixcoatl, 
the  white  cloud  serpent,  the  spirit  of  the  tornado. 
It  was  he  who  created  the  world,  and  alone  of  the 
Aztec  gods  was  supposed  to  possess  a  human  body.'^ 
Messenger  of  Tlaloc,  god  of  rains,  he  was  figuratively 
Staid  to  sweep  the  road  for  him,  since,  in  that  country, 
violent  winds  are  the  precursors  of  the  wet  seasons. 
Wherever  he  went  all  manner  of  singing  birds  bore 
him  company,  emblems  of  the  whistling  breezes. 
When  he  finally  disappeared  in  the  far  east,  he  sent 
back  four  trusty  youths  who  had  ever  shared  his 
fortunes,  "  incomparably  swift  and  light  of  foot," 
with  directions  to  divide  the  earth  between  them  and 
rule  it  till  he  should  return  and  resume  his  power. 
When  he  would  promulgate  his  decrees,  his  herald 
proclaimed  them  from  Tzatzitepec,  the  hill  of  shout- 
ing, with  such  a  mighty  voice  that  it  could  be  hv\ird 
a  hundred  leagues  around.  The  arrows  which  he 
shot  transfixed  great  trees,  the  stones  he  threw 
levelled  forests,  and  when  he  laid  his  hands  on  the 
rocks  the  mark  was  indelible.  Yet  as  thus  emblematic 
of  the  thunder-storm,  he  possessed  in  full  measure  its 

1  Kingsboroucfh,  Antiquitieft  of  Mexico,  v.  p.  109. 

2  Codex  Telleriano-Ttemensix,  p.  199.  This  authority  calls 
the  creator  Quetzalcoatl,  "  el  primero,"  and  dist'njjuishes 
him  from  the  "  Quetzalcoatl  do  Tula,  que  es  el  quetomd  nombre 
del  primero  Quetzalcoatl."  p.  201. 


\ 


\ 


I 


,?i 


A 


\ 


tot       THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE 

better  attributes.  By  shaking  his  sandals  he  gave 
fiVQ  to  men,  and  poacc,  plenty,  and  riclies  blessed  liis 
subjects.  Tradition  says  he  built  many  temples  to 
Mictlanteuctli,  the  Aztec  Pluto,  and  at  the  creation 
of  the  sun  that  he  slew  all  the  other  gods,  for  the 
advancing  dawn  disperses  the  spectral  shapes  of  night, 
and  yet  all  ts  vivifying  power  does  but  result  in 
increasing  the  number  doomed  to  fall  before  the 
remorseless  stroke  of  death.^ 

His  symbols  were  the  bird,  the  serpent,  the  cross, 
and  the  flint,  representing  the  clouds,  the  lightning, 
the  four  winds,  rud  the  thunderbolt.  Perhaps,  as 
Huemac,  the  Strong  Hand,  he  was  god  of  the  earth- 
quakes. The  Zapotecs  worshipped  such  a  deity  under 
the  image  of  this  member  carved  from  a  precious 
Ftone,*^  calling  to  mind  the  "  Kab  ul,"  the  Working 
Hand,  adored  by  the  Mayas,'  and  said  to  be  one  of 
the  images  of  Zamna,  their  hero  god.*  The  human 
hand,  "  that  divine  tool,  "as  it  has  been  called,  might 
well  be  regarded  by  the  reflective  mind  as  the  teacher 
of  the  arts  and  the  amulet  whose  magic  i)ower  has 

1  The  myth  of  Quptzalcoatl  T  havo  takon  chiefly  from  Sahagun, 
Hist,  de  la  Nueva  Eapaf'ta,  lib.  i.  cap.  5  ;  lib.  iii.  caps.  3,  13,  14  ; 
lib.  X.  cap.  29;  and  Torqiiemada,  JMonarqnln  Indiana,  lib.  vi.  cap. 
24.  It  must  bo  remembered  that  the  Quiche  lep^ends  identify 
him  positively  with  the  Tohil  of  Central  America  (Le  Livre 
Sacr^,  p.  247). 

2  Padilla  Davila,  Hist,  de  la  Prov.  de  Santiago  de  Mexico,  lib. 
ii,  cap.  89. 

»  Cogolludo,  Hint,  de  Yiirafhan,  lib  iv.  cap.  8. 

*  ^amna,  not  Votan,  corresponded  in  the  Maya  pantheon  to 
Michabo  and  his  congeners.  As  M.  de  Charencey  correctly  says, 
«»  Bien  oppose  k  Votan.  ZamiiJi  aiirait  tons  les  traits  d'un  genie 
atmosplierique"  (Le  Mythe  de  Votan,  \\  30). 


JL 


I 


THE  MYTH  OF  QUETZALCOATL. 


II 
199 


won  for  man  wluit  vantacfo  he  has  gained  in  his  long 
combat  with  nature  and  his  fellows. 

I  might  next  diseuss  the  culture  myth  of  the  jNIuys- 
cas,  whose  liero  Bochiea  or  Nemqueteba  boro  the 
other  name  Sua,  the  White  One,  the  Day,  the  East, 
an  appellation  they  likewise  gave  the  Europeans  on 
their  arrival.  lie  had  taught  them  in  remotest  times 
how  to  manufacture  their  clothing,  build  their  houses, 
cultivate  the  soil,  and  reckon  time.  When  he  disap- 
peared, he  divided  the  land  between  four  cliiefs,  and 
laid  down  many  minute  rules  of  government  which 
ever  after  were  religiously  observed.^  Or  I  might 
choose  that  of  the  Caribs,  Avhose  patron  Taniu, called 
Grandfather,  and  Old  ]Man  of  the  Sky,  was  a  man  of 
light  complexion,  who  in  the  old  times  came  from  the 
east,  instructed  them  in  agriculture  and  arts,  and  dis- 
appeared in  the  same  direction,  promising  them  as- 
sistance in  the  future,  and  that  at  death  he  would 
receive  their  souls  on  the  summit  of  the  sacred  tree, 
and  transport  them  safely  to  his  home  in  the  sky.^ 
Or  from  the  more  fragmentary  mythology  of  ruder 


\  • 


i 


^  Ho  is  also  called  Tdacanzas  and  Xomteroqiictaba.  Somo 
have  maintiiiupd  a  distinction  between  Dooliicaand  Sua,  which, 
however,  has  not  been  shown.  The  best  authorities  on  the 
mythology  of  the  jVIuyscas  are  Piedrahita,  Hint,  de  las  Conq.  del 
Nui'vo  lleyno  de  Granada,  1GG8  (who  is  copied  by  Humboldt, 
Vues  les  Cordillhea,  pp.  2iG  sqq),  and  Simon,  Nodcias  de  Ticrra 
Firme,  Parte  ii.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mexico. 

2  D'Orbigny,  Ullomme  Amcrica'm,\\.  p.  olO, and  Rochefort, 
Ilist.  des  Isles  Antilles,  p.  482  (Waitz).  The  name  lias  various 
orthographies,  Tamu,  Tamoi,  Tamou,  Ttamoulou,  Tamoin,  mod- 
ern Tamuya,  etc.  Perhaps  the  Ama-livaca  of  the  Orinoko 
Indians  is  another  form.  This  personage  corresponds  evou 
minutely  in  many  points  with  the  Tamu  of  the  island  Caribs. 


200        THE  SUPREME  CODS  OF  THE  ItEl)  llACE. 

nations,  proof  inij^ht  ])o  bronj^lit  of  the  well  nigh 
universal  reeeption  of  these  fundamental  views.  As, 
for  instance,  when  the  Mandans  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri apeak  of  their  first  ancestor  aa  a  son  of  tlio 
West,  who  i)reserved  them  at  the  flood,  and  whose 
garb  was  always  of  four  milk-white  wolfskins  ;  *  and 
wlien  the  Pinios,  a  ])oople  of  the  valley  of  the  Kio 
Gila,  relate  that  their  birthplace  was  where  the  sun 
rises,  tiiat  there  for  generations  they  led  a  joyous  life, 
until  their  beneficent  first  parent  disappeared  in  the 
heavens.  From  that  time,  say  they,  God  lost  bight 
of  them,  and  they  wandered  west,  and  further  v/est 
till  they  reached  their  present  seats."  Or  I  might 
instance  the  Tupis  of  Brazil,  who  were  named  after 
the  first  of  men,  Tupa,  he  who  alone  survived  the 
flood,  who  was  one  of  four  brothers,  who  is  described 
as  an  old  man  of  fair  complexion,  un  vieillard  hlanc^^ 
and  who  is  now  their  highest  divinity,  maker  of  all 
things,*  ruler  of  the  lightning  and  the  storm,  whose 

1  Catlin,  Letters  and  Notes,  Letter  22. 

2  Journal  of  Capt.  Johnson,  in  Emory,  Reconnoissance  of  New 
Mexico,  p.  601. 

3  M.  De  Charencey,  m  the  Revue  Amiricaine,  ii.  p.  317.  Ttipa 
it  may  be  observed  means  in  Quichua,  lord  or  royal.  Father 
Ilolguin  gives  asun  example  a  tupa  Dins,  0  Lord  God  (Vocabu- 
lario  Quichua,  p.  348 :  r;iudad  de  los  Reyes,  1008).  In  the 
Quiche  dialects  tepeu  if  ne  of  the  common  appellations  of  di- 
vinity and  is  also  translated  lord  or  ruler.  We  are  not  yet  suffi- 
ciently advanced  in  the  study  of  American  philology  to  draw 
any  inference  from  these  resemblances,  but  they  should  not  be 
overlooked. 

*  *'  II  a  fait  tout  "  (Le  Vhrc  Ives  d'Evreux,  Hist,  de  Marignan, 
p.  280).  Another  Tupi  myth  is  that  of  Timandonar  and  Ari- 
coute.  They  were  brothers,  one  of  fair  complexion,  the  other 
dark.     They  were  constantly  struggling,  and  Aricoute,  which 


THE  MYTH  OF  TUP  A. 


201 


I 

1 


voice  is  Iho  tliundcr,  ami  who  is  tho  guardian  of  llu'lr 
nation,  lint  is  it  not  ovidont  that  these  and  all  such  le- 
gends are  but  variations  of  those  already  analyzed? 

In  thus  removing  one  by  one  the  wrappings  of 
symbolism,  and  displaying  at  the  centre  and  summit 
of  these  various  creeds  lie  who  is  throned  in  tho 
sky,  who  eomes  with  the  dawn,  who  manifests  him- 
self in  the  light  and  the  storm,  and  whoso  ministers 
are  the  four  Avinds,  I  set  up  no  new  god.  The  ancient 
Israelites  praycul  to  him  who  was  seated  above  the 
firmament,  who  commanded  the  morning  and  caused 
the  day-spriug  to  know  its  place,  who  answered  out 
of  the  whirlwind,  and  whoso  envoys  were  the  four 
winds,  the  four  cherubim  described  with  such  wealth 
of  imagery  in  the  intn>duction  to  the  book  of  Kzekiel. 
Tho  ^lahometan  adores  "tiie  element  and  merciful 
Lord  of  the  Daybreak,"  whoso  star  is  in  tho  east, 
Avho  rides  on  tho  storm,  and  whoso  brc^ath  is  the 
wind.  The  primitive  man  in  the  New  World  also 
associated  th(;se  physical  phenomena  as  products  of 
an  invisible  power,  conceived  under  human  form, 
called  by  name,  worshipped  as  one,  and  of  whom  all 
related  the  same  myth  dilYering  but  in  unimportant 
passages.  This  was  the  primeval  religion.  It  was  not 
monotheism,  for  there  were  many  other  gods ;  it  was 
not  pantheism,  for  there  was  no  blending  of  the  cause 
with  the  effects  ;  still  loss  was  it  fetichism,  an  adora- 
tion of  sensuous  objects,  for  those  were  recognized  as 
effects.  It  teaches  us  that  the  idea  of  God  neither 
arose  from  the  phenomenal  world  nor  was  umk  in 
it,   as  is  the  shallow  theory  of  the  day,  but  is   as 

moans  tho  cloudy  or  stormy  day,  caiuo  out  worst.     See  Denis, 
Une  Fete  Brcs'dknne,  etc.,  p.  88. 


li 


202   THE  CUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 

Kant  long  ago  defined  it,  a  conviction  of  a  highest 
and  first  principle  which  binds  all  phenomena  into  one. 

One  point  of  these  legends  deserves  closer  attention 
for  the  influence  it  exerted  on  the  historical  fortunes 
of  the  race.  The  dawn  heroes  were  conceived  as  of 
fiiiL  complexion,  mighty  in  war,  and  though  absent 
for  a  season,  destined  to  return  and  claim  their  ancient 
power.  Here  was  one  of  those  unconscious  prophe- 
cies, pointing  to  the  advent  of  a  white  race  from  the 
east,  that  wrote  the  doom  of  the  red  man  in  letters 
of  fire.  Historians  have  marvelled  at  the  instanta- 
neous collapse  of  the  empires  of  Mexico,  Peru,  the 
Mayas,  and  the  Natchez,  before  a  handful  of  Spanish 
filibusters.  The  fact  was,  wherever  the  whites 
appeared  they  were  connected  with  these  ancient 
predictions  of  the  spirit  of  the  dawn  returning  to 
claim  his  own.  Obscure  and  ominous  prophecies, 
"  texts  of  bodeful  song,"  rose  in  the  memory  of  the 
natives,  and  paral3^zed  their  arms. 

"  For  a  very  long  time,"  said  Montezuma,  at  his 
first  interview  with  Cortes,  "  has  it  been  handed  down 
that  we  are  not  the  original  possessors  of  this  land, 
but  came  hither  from  a  distant  region  under  the 
guidance  of  a  ruler  who  afterwards  left  us  and  never 
returned.  We  have  ever  believed  that  some  day 
his  descendants  would  come  and  resume  dominion 
over  us.  Inasmuch  as  you  are  from  that  direction, 
which  is  toward  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  serve  so 
great  a  king  as  you  describe,  we  believe  that  he  is 
also  our  natural  lord,  and  are  ready  to  submit  our- 
selves to  him."  ^ 

The  gloomy  words  of  Nczahualcoyotl,  a  former 

1  Cortes,  Carta  Primem,  pp.  113,  114. 


nil 


■  llllil  ■ 


PROPHECIES  OF  HEATHENDOM. 


208 


his 
own 
and, 
the 
lever 
day 
nion 
tion, 
e  so 
le  is 
our- 

tmer 


■ 


prince  of  Tezcuco,  foretelling  the  arrival  of  white 
and  bearded  men  from  the  east,  who  would  wrest 
the  power  from  the  hands  of  the  rightful  rulers  and 
destroy  in  a  day  the  edifice  of  centuries,  were  ringing 
in  his  ears.  But  they  were  not  so  gloomy  to  the 
minds  of  his  down-trodden  subjects,  for  that  day  was 
to  liberate  them  from  the  thralls  of  servitude.  There- 
fore when  they  first  beheld  the  fair  compiexioned 
Spaniards,  they  rushed  into  the  water  to  embrace 
the  prows  of  their  vessels,  and  dispatched  messen- 
gers throughout  the  land  to  proclaim  the  return  of 
Quetzalcoatl.^ 

The  noble  Mexican  was  not  alone  in  his  presenti- 
ments. When  Hernando  de  Soto  on  landing  in  Peru 
first  met  the  Inca  Huascar,  the  latter  related  au 
ancient  prophecy  which  his  father,  Huayna  Capac, 
had  repeated  on  his  dying  bed,  to  the  effect  that  in 
the  reign  of  the  thirteenth  Inca,  white  men  (viraco- 
chas)  of  surpassing  strength  and  valor  would  come 
from  their  father  the  Sun  and  subject  to  their  rule 
the  nations  of  the  world.  "  I  command  you,"  said 
the  dying  monarch,  "to  yield  them  homage  and  obedi- 
ence, for  they  will  be  of  a  nature  superior  to  ours.'"*^ 

The  natives  of  Haiti  told  Columbus  of  similar  pre- 
dictions long  anterior  to  his  arrival.^  The  Mary- 
land Indians  said  the  whites  were  an  old  generation 
revived,  who  had  come  back  to  kill  their  nation  and 
take  their  places.  *  And  Father  Lizana  has  preserved 
in  the  original  Maya  tongue  several  such  foreboding 

^  Sahat^uii,  m^t.  de  la  Niteva  Espa^a,  lib.  xii.  caps.  2,  3. 
^  La  Vej^a,  Hist,  des  Incas,  lib.  ix.  cnp.  15, 
^  Peter  Martyr,  De  Reh.  Oceanicis,  Dec.  iii.  lib.  vii. 
*  Blomes,  Utate  of  his  Maj.   Terr.^  p.  199. 


<  I] 


II 


: 


I 


\ 


204        THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 

chants.  Doubtless  he  has  t^dapted  them  somewhat 
to  proselytizing  purposes,  but  they  seem  very  likely 
to  be  close  copies  of  authentic  aboriginal  songs,  refer- 
ring to  the  return  of  Zamna  or  Kukulcan,  lord  of  the 
dawn  and  the  four  winds,  worshipped  at  Cozumcl 
and  Palenquo  under  the  sign  of  the  cross.  An  ex- 
tract will  show  their  character : — 

"At  the  close  of 


While  the  cities 


sign 


thirteenth  Age  of  the  world, 
Itza  and  Tancah  still  flourish, 
Td  of  the  Sky  will  appear, 
The  liglit  ol  the  dawn  will  illumine  the  laud, 
And  the  cross  will  be  seen  by  I'le  nations  of  men. 
A  father  to  you,  will  lie  be,  Itzalanos, 
A  brother  to  you,  ye  natives  of  Tancah  ; 
Receive  well  the  bearded  guests  who  are  coming, 
Bringing  the  sign  of  the  Lord  from  the  daybreak, 
Of  the  Lord  of  the  Sky,  r,o  clement  yet  powerful.  "^ 

The  older  writers,  Gomara,  Cogolludo,  Villagu- 
tierre,  have  taken  pains  to  collect  other  instances  of 
this  presentiment  of  the  arrival  aud  domination  of  a 
race.  Later  white  historians,  fashionably  incredulous 
of  what  they  cannot  explain,  have  passed  them  over  in 
silence.  That  they  existed  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
aiid  that  they  arose  in  the  way  I  have  stated,  is  almost 
proven  by  the  fact  that  in  Mexico,  Bogota,  and  Peru, 
the  whites  were  at  once*  called  from  the  proper  names 

^  Lizana,  Ulstt.  de  J^uefstra  Se/lorn  de  Itznmal,  lib.  ii.  cap.  i.  in 
Brasseur,  Hist,  de  Mexique,  ii.  p.  605.  The  prophecies  are  of 
the  priest  who  bore  the  title — not  name — cld'an  bn  'am,  and  whose 
offices  were  those  of  divination  and  astrology.  The  verse  claims 
to  date  from  about  1450,  and  was  very  well  known  throughout 
Yucatan,  so  it  is  said.  The  number  thirteen  which  in  many  of 
these  prophecies  is  the  supposed  limit  of  the  present  order  of 
tilings,  is  doubtless  derived  from  the  observation  that  thirteen 
moons  complete  one  solar  year. 


i>l 


/ 


.^JUm 


THE  HOPES  OF  A  REDEEMER 


205 


1.  in 

l-e  of 

ihose 

lims 

hout 

lyof 

|r  of 

teen 


of  tlie  lieroes  of  the  Dawn,  SuaSj  ViracochoAi^  and  Quet- 
zalcoath. 

When  the  church  of  Rome  had  crushed  remorse- 
lessly the  religions  of  Mexico  and  Pern,  all  hope  of 
the  return  of  Quetzalcoatl  and  Viracocha  perished 
with  the  institutions  of  which  they  were  the  mythi- 
cal founders.  BuB  it  was  only  to  ari^e  under  new 
incarnations  and  later  names.  As  well  foi-bid  the 
heart  of  youth  to  bud  forth  in  tender  love,  as  that  of 
oppressed  nationalities  to  cherish  the  falih  that  some 
ideal  hero,  ssome  royal  man,  will  ycfc  arioC,  and  break 
iu  fragments  their  fetters,  and  lead  thorn  to  glory 
and  honor. 

When  the  name  of  Quetzalcoatl  was  no  longer 
heard  from  the  teocalli  of  Cholula,  that  of  Monte- 
zuma took  its  place.  From  ocean  to  ocean,  and  from 
the  river  Gila  to  the  Nicaraguan  lake,  nearly  every 
aboriginal  nation  still  cherishes  the  memory  of  Mon- 
tezuma, not  as  the  last  unfortunate  ruler  of  a  vanish- 
ed state,  but  as  the  prince  of  their  golden  era,  their 
Saturnian  age,  lord  of  the  winds  and  waters,  and 
founder  of  their  institutions.  When,  in  the  depth 
of  the  tropical  forests,  the  antiquary  disinters  some 
statue  of  earnest  mien,  the  natives  whisper  one  to 
the  other,  "  Montezuma !  Montezuma !  "  ^  In  the  le- 
gends of  New  Mexico  he  is  the  founder  of  the  pueblos, 
and  intrusted  to  their  guardianship  the  sacred  fire. 
Departing,  he  planted  a  tree,  and  bade  them  watch 
it  well,  for  when  that  tree  should  fall  and  the  fire 
die  out,  then  he  would  return  from  the  far  East,  and 
lead  his  loyal  people  to  victory  and  power.    When 

1  Squier,*  TrareZs  in  Nicaragua,  ii.  p.  35. 


( 


^1 


I   , 


>    i 


200        THE  SUPREME  GODS  OF  THE  RED  RACE. 

the  present  generation  saw  their  land  glide,  mile  by 
mile,  into  the  rapacious  hands  of  the  Yankees — when 
new  and  strange  diseases  desolated  their  homes — 
finally,  when  in  1840  the  sacrod  tree  was  prostrated, 
and  the  guardian  of  the  holy  fire  was  found  dead  on 
its  cold  ashes,  then  they  thought  the  hour  of  deliver- 
ance had  come,  and  every  morning  at  earliest  dawn 
a  watcher  mounted  to  the  house-tops,  and  gazed  long 
and  anxiously  in  the  lightening  east,  hoping  to  descry 
the  noble  form  of  Montezuma  advancing  through 
the  morning  beams  at  the  head  of  a  conquering 
army.  * 

Groaning  under  the  iron  rule  of  the  Spaniards,  the 
Peruvians  would  not  believe  that  the  last  of  t!ie 
Incas  had  perished  an  outcast  and  a  wanderer  in  the 
forests  of  the  Cordilleras.  For  centuries  they  clung 
to  the  persuasion  that  he  had  but  retired  to  another 
mighty  kingdom  beyond  the  mountains,  and  in  due 
time  would  return  and  sweep  the  haughty  Castilian 
back  into  the  ocean.  In  1781,  a  mestizo,  Jose  Gab- 
riel Condorcanqui,  of  the  province  of  Tinta,  took 
advantage  of  this  strong  delusion,  and  binding 
around  his  forehead  the  scarlet  fillet  of  the  Incas, 
proclaimed  himself  the  long  lost  Inca  Tupac  Amaru, 
and  a  true  child  of  the  sun.  Thousands  of  Indians 
flocked  to  his  standard,  and  at  their  head  he  took 

1  Whipple,  Report  on  the  Ind.  Tribes,  p,  36.  Emory,  Recon. 
of  New  Mexico,  p.  G 1.  T!ie  latter  adus  that  among  the  Pueblo 
Indians,  the  Apaches,  and  Xavajos,  the  name  of  Montezuma  is 
"  as  familiar  as  Washington  to  us."  This  is  the  more  curious 
as  neither  the  Pueblo  Indians  nor  either  of  the  other  tribes  is  in 
any  way  related  to  the  Aztec  race  by  languag(^,  as  has  been  shown 
by  Dr.  Buschmann,  Die  Vocllcer  and  Sprachen  Neu  Mexicans,  p. 
2G2. 


\  ( 


iecon. 
Iiieblo 
kna  is 
Irious 
I  is  ill 
lown 
!,  p. 


"r'fli  III 


THE  HOPES  OF  A  REDEEMER. 


207 


the  field,  vowing  the  extermination  of  every  soul 
of  the  hated  race.  Seized  at  last  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  condemned  to  a  public  execution,  so  profound 
was  the  reverence  with  Avhich  he  had  inspired  nis 
followers,  so  full  their  faith  in  his  claims,  that,  unde- 
terred by  the  threats  of  the  soldiery,  they  prostrated 
themselves  on  their  faces  before  this  last  of  the  chil- 
dren,of  the  sun,  as  he  passed  on  to  a  felon's  death.^ 
These  fancied  reminiscences,  these  unfounded 
hopes,  so  vague,  so  child-like,  let  no  one  dismiss  them 
as  the  babblings  of  ignorance.  Contemplated  in 
their  broadest  meaning  as  characteristics  of  the  race 
of  man,  they  have  an  interest  higher  than  any  history, 
beyond  that  of  any  poetry.  They  point  to  the  recog- 
nized- discrepancy  between  what  man  is,  and  what 
he  feels  he  should  be,  must  be  ;  they  are  the  indig- 
nant protests  of  the  race  against  acquiescence  in  the 
world's  evil  as  the  world's  law ;  they  are  the  incohe- 
rent utterances  of  those  yearnings  for  nobler  condi- 
tions of  existence,  which  no  savagery,  no  ignorance, 
nothing  but  a  false  and  lying  enlightenment  can 
wholly  extinguish. 

1  Humboldt,  Essay  on  New  Spain,  bk.  ii,  chap,  vi.,   Eng. 
trans.;  Amichten  derNatur^  ii,  pp,  357,  38Gi 


\ 


CHAPTER  VII. 


• 


THE  MYTHS  OF  THE  CREATION,  THE  DELUGE,  THE 
EPOCHS  OP  NATURE,  AND  THE  LAST  DAY. 

Cosmogonies  usually  portray  the  action  of  the  Spikit  on  the  Waters.— 
Tliose  of  the  Muscogees,  Atiiapascas,  Quiche's,  Mixtecs,  Iroquois,  Al- 
gonkins,  and  others.— The  Flood-Myth  an  unconscious  attempt  to  re- 
concile a  creation  in  time  with  the  eternity  of  matter.— Proof  of  this 
from  American  mytliology.— Characteristics  of  American  Flood-Myths. 
— The  person  saved  usually  the  first  man. — The  number  seven. — Their 
Ararats. — The  r61e  of  birds. — The  confusion  of  tongues.— The  Aztec, 
Quiche,  Algonkin,  Tupi,  and  earliest  Sanscrit  flood  myths.- The  belief 
in  Epochs  of  Nature  a  further  result  of  this  attempt  at  reconciliation. — 
Its  forms  among  Peruvians,  Mayas,  and  Aztecs. — The  expectation  of  the 
End  of  the  World  a  corollary  of  this  belief. — Views  of  various  nations. 


COULD  the  reason  rest  content  with  the  belief 
that  the  universe  always  was  as  it  now  is,  it 
would  save  much  beating  of  brains.  Such  is  the 
comfortable  condition  of  the  Eskimos,  the  Rootdig- 
gers  of  California,  the  most  brutish  specimens  of  hu- 
manity everywhere.  Vain  to  inquire  their  story  of 
creation,  for,  like  the  knife-grinder  of  anti-Jacobin 
renown,  they  have  no  story  to  tell.  It  never  occur- 
red to  them  that  the  earth  had  a  beginning,  or  un- 
derwent any  greater  changes  then  those  of  the  sea- 
sons. ^    But  no  sooner  does  the  mind  begin  to  reflect 

^  So  far  as  this  applies  to  the  Eskimos,  it  might  be  questioned 
on  the  authority  of  Paul  Egede,  whose  valuable  Nachrichten 
von  Gronland  contains  several  flood-raytlis,  &c.    But  these  Eski- 


■^i*Bii 


ten 


t 


THE  MYTH  OF  CREATION. 

the  intellect  to  employ  itself  on  higher  themes  than 
the  needs  of  the  body,  than  the  law  of  casualty  ex- 
erts its  power,  and  the  man,  out  of  such  materials  as 
he  has  at  hand,  manufactures  for  himself  a  Theory 
of  Things. 

What  these  materials  -were  has  been  shown  in  the 
last  few  chapters.  A  simple  primitive  substance,  a 
divinity  to  mould  it — these  are  the  reciuirements  of 
every  cosmogony.  Concerning  the  first  no  nation 
ever  hesitated.  All  agree  that  before  time  began 
water  held  all  else  in  solution,  covered  and  concealed 
everything.  The  reasons  for  this  assumed  priority 
of  water  have  been  already  touched  upon.  Did  a 
tribe  dwell  near  some  great  sea  others  can  be  im- 
agined. The  land  is  limited,  peopled,  stable;  the 
ocean  fluctuating,  waste,  boundless.  It  insatiably 
swallows  all  rains  and  rivers,  quenches  sun  and  moon 
in  its  dark  chambers,  and  raves  against  its  bounds 
as  a  beast  of  prey.  Awe  and  fear  are  the  sentiments 
it  inspires ;  in  Aryan  tongues  its  synonyms  are  the 
desert  and  the  night.  ^  It  produces  an  impression  of 
immensity,  infinity,  formlessness,  and  barren  change- 
ableness,  well  suited  to  a  notion  of  chaos.  It  is  sterile, 
receiving  all  things,  producing  nothing.  Hence  the 
necessity  of  a  creative  power  to  act  upon  it,  as  it 
were  to  impregnate  its  barren  germs.     Some  cosmo- 

mos  had  had  for  generations  intercourse  with  European  mission- 
aries and  sailors,  and  as  the  other  tribes  of  their  stock  were 
singularly  devoid  of  corresponding  traditions,  it  is  likely  that 
in  Greenland  they  were  of  foreign  origin. 

^  Pictot,  Oriffinen  Tndo-Eurnp/ennes  iuMichelet,  La  Mer.  The 
latter  has  many  eloquent  and  striking  remarks  on  the  impres- 
sions left  by  the  great  ocean. 

14  /.. 


w 


210    MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

gonies  find  this  in  one,  some  in  another  personifica- 
tion of  divinity.  Commonest  of  all  is  that  of  the 
wind,  or  its  emblem  the  bird,  types  of  the  breath  of 
life. 

Thus  the  venerable  record  in  Genesis,  translated 
in  the  authorized  version  "and  the  Spirit  of  God 
moved  on  the  face  of  the  waters,"  may  with  equal 
correctness  be  rendered  "  and  a  mighty  wind  brooded 
on  the  surface  of  the  waters, '  presenting,'  the  picture 
of  a  primeval  ocean  fecundated  by  the  wind  as  a 
bird.  ^  The  eagle  that  in  the  Finnish  epic  of  Kalc- 
wala  floated  over  the  waves  and  hatched  the  land,  the 
Qgg  that  in  Chinese  legend  swam  hither  and  thither 
until  it  grew  to  a  jontinent,  the  giant  Ymir,  the 
rustler  (as  wind  in  trees),  from  whose  flesh,  says  the 
Edda,  our  globe  was  made  and  set  to  float  like  a 
speck  in  the  vast  sea  between  Muspel  and  Niflheim, 
all  are  the  same  tale  repeated  by  different  nations  in 
different  ages.  But  why  take  illustrations  from  the 
old  world  when  they  are  so  plenty  in  the  new. 

Before  the  creation,  said  the  Muscogees,  a  great 
body  of  water  was  alone  visible.  Two  pigeons  flew 
to  and  fro  over  its  waves,  and  at  last  spied  a  blade  of 
grass  rising  above  the  surface.  Dry  land  gradually 
followed,  and  the  islands  and  continents  took  their 
present  shapes.  ^  Whether  this  is  an  authentic  abori- 
ginal myth,  is  not  beyond  question.  No  such"*  doubt 
attaches  to  that  of  the  Athapascas.     With  singular 

1 "  Spiritus  Dei  incubuit  superficei  aquarum"  is  the  transla- 
tion of  one  writer.  The  word  for  spirit  in  Hebrew,  as  in  Latin, 
originally  meant  wind,  as  I  have  before  remarked. 

2  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribes,  i.  p.  266. 


i 


-^>- 


TUE  MYTH  OF  CREATION. 


211 


ir 


unanimity,  most  of  the  northwest  branches  of  this 
stock  trace  their  descent  from  a  raven, "  a  mighty  bird, 
whose  eyes  were  fire,  whose  glances  were  lightning, 
and  the  clapping  of  whose  wings  was  thunder.  On 
his  descent  to  the  ocean  the  earth  instantly  rose,  and 
remained  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  This  om- 
nipotent bird  then  called  forth  all  the  variety  of 
animals."  ^  > 

Very  similar,  but  with  more  of  poetic  finish,  is  the 
legend  of  the  Quichds : — 

"  This  is  the  first  word  and  the  first  speech.  There 
were  neither  men  nor  brutes  ;  neither  birds,  fish,  nor 
crabs,  stick  nor  stone,  valley  nor  mountain,  stubble 
nor  forest,  nothing  but  the  sky.  The  face  of  the  land 
was  hidden.  There  was  naught  but  the  silent  sea 
and  the  sky.  There  was  nothing  joined,  nor  any 
sound,  nor  thing  that  stirred  ;  neither  any  to  do  evil, 
nor  to  rumble  in  the  heavens,  nor  a  walker  on  foot ; 
only  the  silent  waters,  only  the  pacified  ocean,  only 
it  in  its  calm.  Nothing  was  but  stillness,  and  rest, 
and  darkness,  and  the  night ;  nothing  but  the  Maker 
and  Moulder,  the  Hurler,  the  Bird-Serpent.  In  the 
waters,  in  a  limpid  twilight,  covered  with  green 
feathers,  slept  the  mothers  and  fathers."  ^ 

Over  this  parsed  Hurakan,  the  mighty  wind,  and 
called  out  Earth  !  and  straightway  the  solid  land  was 
there. 

The  picture  writings  of  the  Mixtecs  preserved 


la- 


1  Mackenzie,  Hist,  of  (he  Fur  Trade,  p.  83;  "Richardson,  Arctic 
Expedition,  p.  236. 

'^Ximenes,  Or.  de  los  Ind.  de  Gnat.,  pp.  5-7.  I  translate 
freely,  following  Ximenes  rather  than  Brasseur. 


BTi 


212  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

a  similar  cosmogony :  "  In  the  year  and  in  the  day 
of  clouds,  before  ever  were  either  years  or  days,  the 
world  lay  in  darkness ;  all  things  were  orderlcss,  and 
a  water  covered  the  slime  and  the  ooze  that  the  earth 
then  was."  By  the  efforts  of  two  winds,  called,  from 
astrological  associations,  that  of  Nino  Serpents  and 
that  of  Nine  Caverns,  personified  one  as  a  bird  and 
one  as  a  winged  serpent,  the  waters  subsided  and  the 
land  dried.* 

In  the  birds  that  here  play  such  conspicuous  parts, 
we  cannot  fail  to  recognize  the  winds  and  the  clouds; 
but  more  especially  the  dark  thunder  clouds,  soaring 
in  space  at  the  beginning  of  things,  most  forcible  em- 
blem of  the  aerial  powers.  They  are  the  sym])ols  of 
that  divinity  which  acted  on  the  passive  and  sterile 
waters,  the  fitting  result  being  the  production  of  a 
universe.  Other  symbols  of  the  divine  could  also  be 
employed,  and  the  meaning  remain  the  same.  Or  were 
the  fancy  too  helpless  to  suggest  any,  they  could  be 
dispensed  with,  and  purely  natural  agencies  take  their 
place.  Thus  the  unimaginative  Iroquois  narrated 
that  when  their  primitive  female  ancestor  was  kicked 
from  the  sky  by  her  irate  spouse,  there  was  as  yet  no 
land  to  receive  her,  but  that  it  "suddenly  bubbled  up 
under  her  feet,  and  waxed  bigger,  so  that  ere  long  a 
whole  country  was  perceptible."  ^  Or  that  certain 
amphibious  animals,  the  beaver,  the  otter,  and  the 
muskrat,  seeing  her  descent,  hastened  to  dive  and 
bring  up  sufficient  mud  to  construct  an  island  for  her 
residence."    The  muskrat  is  also  the  simple  machinery 


1  Garcia,  Or.  de  los  Tndios,  lib.  v.  cap.  4. 

2  Doc.  Hist,  of  New  York,  iv.  p.  130  (circ.  1650). 
*  Jiel.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  An.  1G38,  j).  101, 


mkA^ 


a 


If 


i 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  FLOOD  MYTH. 


213 


in  the  cosmogony  of  the  Takahlis  of  the  northwest 
coast,  the  Osages  and  some  Algonkin  tribes. 

These  latter  were,  indeed,  keen  enough  to  perceive 
that  there  was  really  no  creation  in  such  an  account. 
Dry  land  was  wanting,  but  earth  was  there,  though 
hidden  by  boundless  waters.  Consequently,  they 
spoke  distinctly  of  the  action  of  the  muskrat  in 
bringing  it  to  the  surface  as  a  formation  only. 
Michabo  directed  him,  and  from  the  mud  formed 
islands  and  main  land.  But  when  the  subject  of 
creation  was  pressed,  they  replied  they  knew  notliing 
of  that,  or  roundly  answered  the  questioner  that  he 
was  ialking  nonsense.^  Their  myth,  almost  identical 
with  that  of  their  neighbors,  vas  recognized  by  them 
to  be  not  of  a  construction,  but  a  reconstruction  only  ; 
a  very  judicious  disti'nction,  but  one  which  has  a 
most  important  corollary.  A  reconstruction  sup- 
poses a  previous  existence.  This  they  felt,  and  had 
something  to  say  a^out  an  earth  anterior  to  this  of 
ours,  but  one  without  light  or  human  inhabitants.  A 
lake  burst  its  bounds  and  submerged  it  wholly.  This 
is  obviously  nothing  but  a  mere  and  meagre  fiction, 
invented  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  primeval  ocean. 
But  mark  it  well,  for  this  is  the  germ  of  those  mar- 
vellous myths  of  the  Epochs  of  Nature,  the  catastro- 
phes of  the  universe,  the  deluges  of  water  and  of  fire, 
which  have  laid  such  strong  hold  on  the  human  fancy 
in  every  land  and  in  every  age. 

The  purpose  for  which  this  addition  was  made  to 
the  simpler  legend  is  clear  enough.  It  was  to  avoid 
the  dilemma  of  a  creation  from  nothing  on  the  one 


*  Rel.  de  la  Nouv.  France ^  An.  1634,  p.  13. 


214  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

hand,  and  the  eternity  of  matter  on  the  other.  J^x 
nihilo  nihil  is  an  apothegm  indorsed  alike  by  the 
profoundest  metaphysicians  and  the  rudest  savages. 
But  the  other  horn  was  no  easier.  To  escape  accept- 
ing the  theory  that  the  world  has  ever  heeii  as  it 
now  is,  was  the  only  object  of  a  legend  of  its  fomia- 
tion.  As  either  lemma  conllicts  with  fundamental 
laws  of  thought,  this  escape  was  eagerly  adopted, 
and  in  the  suggestive  words  of  Prescott,  men  "sought 
relief  from  the  oppressive  idea  of  eternity  by  break- 
ing it  up  into  distinct  cycles  or  periods  of  time."  ^ 
Vain  but  characteristic  attempt  of  the  ambitious 
mind  of  man  I  The  Hindoo  philosopher  reconciles 
to  his  mind  the  suspension  of  the  world  in  space  by 
imagining  it  supported  by  an  elephant,  the  elephant 
by  a  tortoise,  and  the  tortoise  by  a  serpent.  Wo 
laugh  at  the  Hindoo,  and  fancy  wo  diminish  the  diffi- 
culty by  explaining  that  it  revolves  around  the  sun, 
and  the  sun  around  some  far-off  star.  Just  so  the 
general  mind  of  humanity  finds  some  satisfaction  in 
supposing  a  world  or  a  series  of  worlds  anterior  to 
the  present,  thus  escaping  the  insoluble  enigma  of 
creation  by  removing  it  indefinitely  in  time. 

The  support  lent  to  these  views  by  the  presence  of 
marine  shells  on  high  lands,  or  by  faint  reminiscences 
of  local  geologic  convulsions,  I  estimate  very  low. 
Savages  are  not  inductive  philosophers,  and  by  noth 
ing  short  of  a  miracle  could  they  preserve  the  remem- 
brance of  even  the  most  terrible  catastrophe  beyond 
a  few  generations.  Nor  has  any  such  occurred 
within  the  ken  of  history  of  sufficient  magnitude  to 
make  a  very  permanent  or  wide-spread  impression. 

1  Conquest  of  Mexico,  i.  p.  61. 


•Kl 


THE  AMFIUCAN  FLOOD  MYTHS. 


216 


of 

les 
iw. 
th 
Im- 
Ind 
led 
Ito 
in. 


Not  physics,  but  metaphysicb,  is  tho  exciting  cause 
of  these  bt'liui's  in  periodical  convulsions  of  the  globe. 
Tho  idea  of  matter  cannot  bo  separated  from  that  of 
time,  and  time  and  eternity  are  contradictory  terms. 
Common  words  show  this  connection.  World,  for 
example,  in  the  old  language  waerehl,  from  the  root 
to  wear,  by  derivation  means  an  ago  or  cycle  (Grimm). 
In  effect,  a  myth  of  creation  is  nowhere  found 
among  primitive  nations.  It  seems  repugnant  to 
their  reason.  Dry  land  and  animate  life  had  a  begin- 
ning, but  not  matter.  A  series  of  constructions  and 
demolitions  may  conveniently  be  supposed  for  these. 
The  analogy  of  nature,  as  seen  in  the  vernal  flowers 
springing  up  after  the  desolation  of  winter,  of  the 
sapling  sprouting  from  tho  fallen  trunk,  of  life  every- 
where rising  from  death,  suggests  such  a  view. 
Hence  arose  the  belief  in  Epochs  of  Nature,  elabo- 
rated by  ancient  philosophers  into  the  Cycles  of  the 
Stoics,  tho  Great  Days  of  Brahm,  long  periods  of 
time  rounded  off  by  sweeping  destructions,  tho  Cata- 
clysms and  Ekpyrauscs  of  the  universe.  Some 
thought  in  these  all  beings  perished  ;  others  that  a 
few  survived.^  This  latter  and  more  common  view 
is  the  origin  of  the  myth  of  tho  deluge.     How  fa- 

^  For  instance,  Epictotns  favors  the  opinion  that  at  the  sol- 
stices of  the  great  yoar  not  only  all  human  beings,  but  even  the 
gods,  arc  annihilated;  and  speculates  -whether  at  such  times 
Jove  feels  lonely  (Discourses,  bk.  iii.  chap.  13).  Macrobius, 
so  far  from  coinciding  with  liim,  explains  the  great  antiquity  of 
Egyptian  civi  ization  by  the  hypothesis  that  that  country  is  so 
happily  situatod  between  the  pole  and  equator,  as  to  escape 
both  the  deluge  and  conflagration  of  tho  great  cycle.  (Somnium 
Scij)ioniSi  lib.  ii.  cup.  10.) 


\ 


216  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

miliar  such  speculations  were  to  the  aborigines  of 
America  there  is  abundant  evidence  to  show. 

The  early  Algoi^kin  legends  do  not  speak  of  an 
antediluvian  race,  nor  of  any  family  who  escaped  the 
waters.  Michabo,  the  spirit  of  the  dawn,  their 
supreme  deity,  alone  existed,  and  by  his  power  form- 
ed and  peopled  it.  Nor  did  their  neighbors,  the 
Dakotas,  though  firm  in  the  belief  that  the  globe 
had  once  been  destroyed  by  the  waters,  suppose  that 
any  had  escaped.^  The  same  view  was  entertained 
by  the  Nicaraguans  ^  and  the  Botocudos  of  Brazil. 
The  latter  attributed  its  destruction  to  the  moon 
falling  to  the  earth  from  time  to  time.^ 

Much  the  most  general  opinion,  however,  was  that 
some  few  escaped  the  desolating  element  by  one  of 
those  means  most  familiar  to  the  narrator,  by  ascend- 
ing some  mountain,  on  a  raft  or  canoe,  in  a  cave,  or 
even  by  climbing  a  tree.  No  doubt  some  of  these 
legends  have  been  modified  by  Christian  teachings ; 
but  many  of  them  are  so  connected  with  local  pecu- 
liarities and  ancient  religious  ceremonies,  that  no  un- 
biased student  can  assign  them  wholly  to  that  source, 
as  Professor  Vater  has  done,  even  if  the  authorities 
for  many  of  them  were  less  trustworthy  than  they 
are.  There  are  no  more  common  heirlooms  in  the 
traditional  lore  of  the  red  race.  Nearly  every  old 
author  quotes  one  or  more  of  them.  They  pre- 
sent great  uniformity  of  outline,  and  rather  than 
engage  in  repetitions  of  little  interest,  they  can  be 


J 


^  Schoolcraft,  Ind.   Tribes,  iii.  p.  2G3,  iv.  p.  230. 

^  Oviedo,  Hist,  du  Nicaragua,  pp.  22,  27. 

^  MuUer,  Amer.   Urrelig.,  p.  254,  from  Max  and  Denis. 


AST  DAY. 
^rigines  of 

peak  of  an 
escaped  the 
awn,  their 
(ower  form- 
jhbors,  the 
]  the  globe 
Lippose  that 
entertained 
;  of  Brazil. 
)  the  moon 

3r,  was  that 
b  by  one  of 
',  by  ascend- 
n  a  cave,  or 
ne  of  these 
teachings ; 
local  pecii- 
that  no  un- 
hat  source, 
authorities 
than  they 
ims  in  the 
every  old 
|They   prc- 
ther  than 
ey  can  be 


THE  AMERICAN  FLOOD  MYTHS. 


217 


Denis. 


more   profitably  studied  in  the  aggregate  than  in 
detail.  /"•'"i-      ' 

By  far  the  greater  number  represent  the  last  de- 
struction of  the  world  to  have  been  by  water.  A  few, 
however,  the  Takahlis  of  the  North  Pacific  coast,  the 
Ynrucares  of  the  Bolivian  Cordilleras,,  and  +he  Mbo- 
cobi  of  Paraguay,  attribute  it  to  a  general  -confla- 
gration vvliich  swept  over  the  earth,  consuming  every 
living  thing  except  a  few  who  took  refuge  in  a  deep 
cave.^  The  more  common  opinion  of  a  submersion 
gave  rise  to  those  traditions  of  a  universal  flood  so 
frequently  recorded  by  travellers,  and  supposed  by 
many  to  be  reminiscences  of  that  of  Noah. 

There  are,  indeed,  some  points  of  striking  similar- 
ity between  the  deluge  myths  of  Asia  and  America. 
It  has  been  called  a  peculiarity  of  the  latter  that  in 
them  the  person  saved  is  always  the  first  man.  This, 
though  noi"  without  exception,  is  certainly  the  gen- 
eral rule.  But  these  first  men  were  usually  the  high- 
est deities  known  to  their  nations,  the  only  creators 
of  the  world,  and  the  guardians  of  the  race.'^ 

Moreover,  in  the  oldest  Sanscrit  legend  of  the  flood 
in  the  Zatapatha  Brahmana,  Manu  is  also  the  first 
man,  and  by  his  own  efforts  creates  offspring.^ 

^  ^lovse,  Rep.  on  the  Ind.  Tribea,  App.  p.  310;  I)' Orbignj, 
Frag,  d'un  Voyac/e  dans  VAtner.  Merid.,  p.  512. 

^  When,  as  in  the  case  of  one  of  the  Mexican  Noahs,  Coxcnx, 
this  does  not  seem  to  hold  good,  it  is  probably  owing  to  the 
loss  of  the  real  form  of  the  myth. 

^  ;My  knowledc^e  of  the  Sanscrit  form  of  the  flood-myth  is 
drawn  priiici])ally  from  the  dissertation  of  Professor  Felix  Ni;ve, 
entitled  La  Tradition  Indienne  du  Deluge  dans  sa  Forme  la  plus 
ancienne,  Paris,  1851.     There  is  in  the  oldest  versions  no  dis- 


'i  «■ 


'i 


'~^l&IUaH.V.A.i»M»' 


I 


i;:5 


ir        ' 


\ 


218  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

A  later  Sanscrit  work  assicrns  to  Maim  the  seven 
Ricliis  or  shining  ones  as  companions.  Seven  was 
also  the  nnmber  of  persons  in  the  ark  Avilh  Noah.  Cu- 
riously enough  one  IMexican  and  one  early  Peruvian 
myth  give  out  exactly  seven  individuals  as  saved  in 
their  floods.^  This  coincidence  arises  from  the 
mystic  powers  attached  to  the  number  seven,  derived 
from  its  frequent  occurrence  in  astrology.  Proof  of 
this  appears  by  comparing  Uio  later  and  the  older 
versions  of  this  myth,  either  in  the  book  of  Genesis, 
where  the  latter  is  distinguished  by  the  use  of  the 
word  Elohim  for  Jehovah,^  or  the  Sanscrit  account 
in  the  Zatapatha  P>rahmana  with  those  in  the  later 
Puranas.^  In  both  instances  tlie  number  seven 
hardly  or  at  all  occurs  in  the  oldest  version,  while  it 
is  constantly  repeated  in  those  of  later  dates. 

In  Oriental  astrology  the  seven  planets  are  sup- 
posed to  have  conferred  this  sacredness  on  the  heptad. 
In  America  it  was  the  Pleiades.  Gumilla  informs 
us  that  the  Orinoco  tribes  computed  their  year  from 
the  period  these  stars  rise  at  sunset."*  Father  Vene- 
gas  says  of  a  nation  of  California  that  they  rever- 
ence the  seven  stars  to  such  a  degree  that  to  look  at 

tiiict  reference  to  an  antediluvian  race,  and  in  India  IMaiiu  is 
by  co:i)mon  consent  the  Adam  as  well  as  the  Xoali  of  the  le- 
gends. 

1  Prescolt,  Conquest  of  Pent,  i.  p.  88  ;  Coilcx  Vaticanm,  No. 
377G,  in  Kingsborouo-h. 

^  And  also  various  peculiarities  of  style  and  language  lost  it 
translation.  The  two  accounts  of  the  Deluge  are  given  side  hy 
side  in  Dr.  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible  under  the  word  Pen- 
tateuch. 

^  See  the  dissertation  of  Prof.  N6ve  referred  to  ahove. 

*  Hist.  del.  Orinoco,  ii.  p.  281. 


ST  DAY. 

the  seven 
4eveu  was 
^oah.  Cu-  - 
r  Peruvian 
IS  saved  in 
from  the 
en,  derived 

Proof  of 
.  the  older 
of  Genesis, 
use  of  the 
•it  account 
in  the  Later 
nher  seven 
on,  while  it 
ites. 

ts  are  sup- 
the  heptad. 
Lla  informs 
v  year  from 
ther  Vene- 
;hey  rever- 

to  look  at 

Idia  Mann  is 
lah  of  the  1g- 

[iticanm^  No. 

linage  losti-.i 
)iven  side  by 
le  word  Peu- 

iliove. 


THE  AMEltlCAN  ARARAT8. 


StO 


them  carelessly  is  calamitous.*  Their  culmination 
dated  the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  year.  ^Vith 
the  Peruvians  they  were  worshipped  as  first  of  the 
starry  host." 

As  the  mountain  or  rather  mountain  chain  of  Ara- 
rat was  regarded  with  veneration  wherever  the  Se- 
mitic accounts  were  known,  so  in  America  heights 
were  pointed  out  Avith  becoming  reverence  as  those 
on  which  the  few  survivors  of  the  dreadful  scenes  of 
the  deluge  were  preserved.  On  the  lied  River  near 
the  village  of  the  Caddoes  was  one  of  these,  a  small 
natural  eminence,  "  to  which  all  the  Indian  tribes  for 
a  great  dist.iuce  around  pay  devout  homage,"  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Sibley.'  The  Cerro  Naztarny  on  the  Rio 
Grande,  the  peak  of  Old  Zuui  in  New  Mexico,  that 
of  Colhuacan  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  Mount  Apoala  in 
Upper  Mixteca,  and  Mount  Neba  in  the  province  of 
Guaymi,  are  some  of  many  elevations  asserted  by  the 
neighboring  nations  to  have  been  places  of  refuge 
for  their  ancestors  when  the  fountains  of  the  great 
deep  broke  forth. 

One  of  the  Mexican  traditions  related  by  Torque- 
mada  identified  taife  Avith  the  mountain  of  Tlaloc  in 
the  terrestrial  oara'l'se,  and  added  that  one  of  the 
seven  demigods  who  o*  aped  commenced  the  pyramid 
of  Cholula  in  its  memory.  He  intended  that  its 
summit  should  reach  the  clouds,  but  the  gods,  angry 
at  his  presumption,  drove  away  the  builders  with 
This  has   a  suspicious  resemblance  to 


lightning. 


»  Tlht  of  CaJifnrmn,  p.  107. 
2  Balboa,  Hisf.  de  Pemu,  pp.  57-8. 

^  American  State  Papers,  Indian  Affairs,  i.  p.  729.    Date  of 
legend,  1801. 


f 


■J' 


\ 


220  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

Bible  stories.  Equally  fabulous  was  the  retreat  of 
the  Araucanians.  It  was  a  three-peaked  mountain 
which  had  the  property  of  floating  on  water,  called 
Theg-Theg,  the  Thunderer.  This  they  believed 
would  preserve  them  in  the  next  as  it  did  in  the  last 
cataclysm,  and  as  its  only  inconvenience  was  that  it 
approached  too  near  the  sun,  they  always  kept  on 
hand  wooden  bowls  to  use  as  parasols.^ 

The  intimate  connection  that  once  existed  between 
the  myths  of  the  deluge  and  those  of  the  creation  is 
illustrated  by  the  part  assigned  to  birds  in  so  many 
of  them.  They  fly  to  and  fro  over  the  waves  ere  any 
land  appears,  though  they  lose  in  great  measure  the 
significance  of  bringing  it  forth,  attached  to  them  in 
the  cosmogonies  as  emblems  of  the  divine  spirit. 
The  dove  in  the  Hebrew  account  appears  in  that  of 
the  Algonkins  as  a  raven,  which  Michabo  sent  out 
to  search  for  land  before  the  muskrat  brought  it  to 
him  from  the  bottom.  A  raven  also  in  the  Athapas- 
can myth  saved  their  ancestors  from  the  general 
flood,  and  in  this  instance  it  is  distinctly  identified 
with  the  mighty  thunder  bird,  who  at  the  beginning 
ordered  the  earth  from  the  depths.  Prometheus-like, 
it  brought  fire  from  heaven,  and  saved  them  from  a 
second  death  by  cold.'  Precisely  the  same  benefi- 
cent actions  were  attributed  by  the  Natchez  to  the 
small  red  cardinal  bird,«  and  by  the  Mandans  and 
Cherokees  an  active  participation  in  the  event  was 
assigned  to  wild  pigeons.  The  Navajos  and  Aztecs 
thought  that  instead  of  being  drowned  by  the  waters 

1  Molina,  Hist,  of  Chili,  ii.  p.  82. 

2  Richardson,  Arctic  Expedition,  p.  239. 

3  Ikimont,  Mems.  Hist,  sur  la  Louisianc,  i.  p.  163. 


11 


ST  DAY. 

retreat  of 
mountain 
ter,  called 
believed 
in  the  last 
vas  that  it 
s  kept  ou 

;d  between 
creation  is 
in  so  many 
es  ere  any 
leasure  the 
to  them  in 
irine  spirit. 
3  in  that  of 
0  sent  out 
ought  it  to 
e  Athapas- 
le  general 
identified 
beginning 
itheus-like, 
em  from  a 
tme  benefi- 
ihez  to  the 
ndans  and 
event  was 
,nd  Aztecs 
the  waters 


163. 


THE  BIRD  SYMBOL, 

the  human  race  were  transformed  into  birds  and  thus 
escaped.  In  all  these  and  similar  legends,  the  bird  is 
a  relic  of  the  cosmogonal  myth  which  explained  the 
origin  of  the  world  from  the  action  of  the  winds, 
under  the  image  of  the  bird,  on  the  primeval  ocean. 

The  Mexican  Codex  Vaticanus  No.  3738  represents 
after  the  picture  of  the  deluge  a  bird  perched  on  the 
summit  of  a  tree,  and  at  its  foot  men  in  the  act  of 
marching.  This  has  been  interpreted  to  mean  that 
after  the  deluge  men  were  dumb  until  a  dove  distrib- 
uted to  them  the  gift  of  speech.  The  New  Mexican 
tribes  related  that  all  excef)t  the  leader  of  those  who 
escaped  to  the  mountains  lost  the  power  of  utterance 
by  terror,^  and  the  Quichfes  that  the  antediluvian 
race  were  "puppets,  men  of  wood,  without  intelli- 
gence or  language."  These  stories,  so  closely  re- 
sembling that  of  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  the 
tower  of  Babel  or  Borsippa,  are  of  doubtful  authen- 
ticity. The  first  is  an  'entirely  erroneous  interpreta- 
tion, as  has  been  shown  by  Senor  Ramirez,  director 
of  the  Museum  of  Antiquities  at  Mexico.  The  name 
of  the  bird  in  the  Aztec  tongue  was  identical  with 
the  word  departure^  and  this  is  its  signification  in  the 
painting.^ 

Stories  of  giants  in  the  days  of  old,  figures  of 
mighty  proportions  looming  up  through  the  mist  of 
ages,  are  common  property  to  every  nation.  The 
Mexicans  and  Peruvians  had  them  as  well  as  others, 
but  their  connection  with  the  legends  of  the  flood 
and  the  creation  is  incidental  and  secondary.  Were 
the  case  otherwise,  it  would  offer  no  additional  point 

^Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Tribe.^,\.  p.  CSO. 

2  D^sjardiiis,  Le  Perou  avunl  la  Conq.  Espagn.,  p.  21. 


m 


i 


\\ 


\ 


y 


I  %i 


222  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DA  Y 

of  similarity  to  the  Hebrew  myth,  for  the  word  ren- 
dered f/iants  ill  the  phrase,  "  and  there  were  giants  in 
those  days,"  has  no  such  meaning  in  the  original. 
It  is  a  blunder  which  crept  into  the  Septuagint,  and 
has  been  cherished  ever  since,  along  with  so  many 
others  in  the  received  text. 

A  few  specimens  will  serve  as  examples  of  all  these 
American  flood  myths.  The  Abbd  Brasseur  has 
translated  one  from  the  Codex  Chimalpopoca,  a  work 
in  the  Nahuatl  language  cf  Ancient  Mexico,  written 
about  half  a  century  after  the  conquest.  It  is  as 
follows : — 

"  And  this  year  was  that  of  Ce-calli,  and  on  the 
first  day  all  was  lost.  The  mountain  itself  was  sub- 
merged in  the  water,  and  the  water  remained  tranquil 
for  fifty-two  springs. 

"  Now  towards  the  close  of  the  year,  Titlahuan 
had  forewarned  the  man  named  Nata  and  his  wife 
named  Nena,  saying,  'Make  no  more  pulque,  but 
straightway  hollow  out  a  large  cypress,  and  enter  it 
when  in  the  month  Tozoztli  the  water  shall  approach 
the  sky.'  They  entered  it,  and  when  Titlacahuan 
had  closed  the  door  he  said,  '  Thou  shalt  eat  but  a 
single  ear  of  maize,  and  thy  wife  but  one  also.' 

"  As  soon  as  they  had  finished  [eating],  they  went 
forth  and  the  water  was  tran  juil ;  for  the  log  did  not 
move  any  more ;  and  opening  it  they  saw  many  fish. 

"  Then  they  built  a  fire,  rubbing  'together  pieces  of 
wood,  and  they  roasted  the  fish.  The  gods  Citlalli- 
nicue  and  Citlallatonac  looking  below  exclaimed, 
*  Divine  Lord,  what  means  that  fire  below?  Why 
do  they  they  thus  smoke  the  heavens?' 

"  Straightway  descendti  Titlacahuan  Tezcatlipoca, 


?% 


THE  QUICHE  FLOOD-MYTH. 


223 


and  commenced  to  scold,  saying,  '  What  is  this  fire 
doing  here? '  And  seizing  the  fishes  he  moulded  their 
hinder  parts  and  changed  their  heads,  and  they  were 
at  once  transformed  into  dogs."  ^ 

That  found  in  the  oft  quoted  legends  of  the  Quichds 
is  to  this  effect : — 

"Then  by  the  will  of  the  Heart  of  Heaven  the 
waters  were  swollen  and  a  great  flood  came  upon  the 
manikins  of  wood.  For  they  did  not  think  nor  speak 
of  the  Creator  who  had  created  them,  and  who  had 
caused  their  birth.  They  were  drowned,  and  a  thick 
resin  fell  from  heaven. 

"  The  bird  Xecotcovach  tore  out  their  eyes ;  the 
bird  Camulatz  cut  off  their  heads  ;  the  bird  Cotzbalam 
devoured  their  flesh;  the  bird  Tecumbalam  broke 
their  bones  and  sinews,  and  ground  them  into  pow- 
der." ' 

"  Because  they  had  not  thought  of  their  Mother 
and  Father,  the  Heart  of  Heaven,  whose  name  is 
Kurakan,  therefore  the  face  of  the  earth  grew  dark 
and  a  pouring  rain  commenced,  raining  by  day,  rain- 
ing by  night. 

"  Then  all  sorts  of  beings,  little  and  great,  gath- 
ered together  to  .abuse  the  men  to  their  faces;  andaP 
spoke,  their  mill-stones,  their  plates,  their  cups,  their 
dogs,  their  hens. 

Said  the  dogs  and  hens,  '  Very  badly  have  you 


:|5 


:  i; 


ii 


(I 


^  Cod.  Chimalpopoca,  in  Brasseur,  Hist,  du  Mexiqiie,  Pieces 
Justificatives. 

2  These  four  birds,  whose  names  have  lost  their  signification, 
represent  doubtless  the  four  winds,  or  the  four  rivers,  which,  as 
in  so  many  legends,  are  the  active  agents  in  overwhelming  the 
world  in  its  great  crises. 


v-^lii 


224  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

treated  us,  and  you  have  bitten  us.     Now  we  bite 
you  in  turn.' 

"  Said  the  mill-stones,  *  Very  much  were  we  tor- 
mented by  you,  and  daily,  daily,  night  and  day,  it 
was  squeak,  squeak,  screechy  screech,  for  your  sake. 
Now  yourselves  shall  feel  our  strength,  and  we  will 
grind  your  flesh,  and  make  meal  of  your  bodies,'  said 
the  mill-stones. ' 

"  And  this  is  what  the  dogs  said,  *  Why  did  you 
not  give  us  our  food  ?  No  sooner  did  we  come  near 
than  you  drove  us  away,  and  the  stick  was  always 
within  reach  when  you  were  eating,  because,  forsooth, 
we  were  not  able  to  talk.  Now  we  will  use  our  teeth 
and  eat  you,'  said  the  dogs,  tearing  their  faces. 

"  And  the  cups  and  dishes  said,  '  Pain  and  misery 
you  gave  us,  smoking  our  tops  and  sides,  cooking  us 
over  the  fire,  burning  and  hurting  us  as  if  we  had  no 
feeling.  •  Now  it  is  your  turn,  and  you  shall  burn,' 
said  the  cups  insultingly. 

"  Then  ran  the  men  hither  and  thither  in  despair. 
They  climbed  to  the  roois  of  the  houses,  but  the 
houses  crumbled  under  their  feet;  they  tried  to 
mount  to  the  tops  of  the  trees,  but  the  trees  hurled 
them  far  from  them  :  the}'  sought  refuge  in  the  cav- 
erns, but  the  caverns  shut  before  them. 

'  The  word  rendered  mill-stone,  in  the  original  means  those 
1  vrged  hollowed  stones  on  which  the  women  were  accustomed  to 
bruise  the  maize.  The  imitative  sounds  for  which  I  have  sub- 
stituted otiiers  in  English,  are  in  Quiche,  holi,holi,  }mqtti,huqin. 

^  Rrasseiir  translates  *'  quoique  nous  nesentlssions  rien,"  but 
Xim  •n'^3  "  nos  quemasteis,  y  sentimos  el  dolor."  As  far  as  I 
can  make  out  the  original,  it  is  the  negative  conditional  as  1 
have  given  it  in  thti  text. 


THE  ALGONKIN  FLOOIJ-MYTII. 


"  Thus  was  accomplished  the  ruin  of  this  race, 
destined  to  he  destroyed  and  overthrown ;  thus  were 
they  given  over  to  destruction  and  contempt.  And 
it  is  said  that  their  posterity  tire  those  little  monkeys 
who  live  in  the  woods.""  ^ 

The  Algonkin  tradition  has  often  been  referred  to. 
Many  versions  of  it  are  extant,  the  oldest  and  most 
authentic  of  which  is  that  ti-anslated  from  the  Mon- 
tagnais  dialect  by  Father  Le  Jeune,  in  1G34. 

"  One  day  as  Messou  was  hunting,  the  Avolves  which 
he  used  as  dogs  entered  a  great  lake  and  were  detained 
there. 

"  Messou  looking  for  them  everywhere,  a  bird  said 
to  him,  '  I  see  them  in  the  middle  of  this  lake.' 

"  He  entered  the  lake  to  rescue  them,  but  the  lake 
overflowing  its  banks  covered  the  land  and  destroyed 
the  world. 

"  Messou,  very  much  astonished  at  this,  sent  out 
the  raven  to  find  a  piece  of  earth  wherewith  to  re- 
build the  land,  but  the  bird  could  find  none ;  then  he 
ordered  the  otter  to  dive  for  some,  but  the  animal 
returned  empty;  at  last  he  sent  down  the  musk  rat, 
who  came  back  with  ever  so  small  a  piece,  Avhich  how- 
ever was  enough  for  Messou  to  form  the  land  on 
which  we  are. 

"  The  trees  having  lost  their  branches,  he  shot  ar- 
rows at  their  naked  trunks  which  became  their  limbs, 
revenired  himself  on  those  who  had  detained  his 
wolves,  and  having  married  the  muskrat,  by  it  peopled 
the  world." 

Finally  may  be  given  the  meagre  legend  of  the 


^  Le  Livre  Sacr^,  p.  27;  XiniPiies,  Or.  dc  los  Indloa^  p.  13. 

15 


"hm,-jk>i.-im»...:.. 


I 


220  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AJU  LAST  DAY. 

Tupis  of  Brazil,  as  heard  by  Hans  Staden,  a  prisoner 
among  them  about  1550,  and  Coreal,  a  kiler  voyager. 
Their  ancient  songs  relate  that  a  long  time  ago  a 
certain  very  powerful  Mair,  that  is  to  say,  a  stranger, 
who  bitterly  hated  their  ancestors,  compassed  their 
destruction  by  a  violent  inundation.  Only  a  very 
few  succeeded  iir  escaping — some  by  climbing  trees, 
others  in  caves.  When  the  water  subsided  the 
remnant  came  together,  and  by  gradual  increase  pop- 
ulated the  world.  ^ 

Or,  it  is  given  by  an  equally  ancient  authority  as 
follows : — 

"  Monan,  without  beginning  or  end,  author  of  all 
that  is,  seeing  the  ingratitude  of  men,  and  their  con- 
tempt for  him  who  had  made  them  thus  joyous, 
withdrew  from  them,  and  sent  upon  them  faia,  the 
divine  fire,  which  burned  all  that  was  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth.  He  swept  about  the  fire  in  such  a  way 
that  in  places  he  raised  mountains,  and  in  others  dug 
valleys.  Of  all  men  one  alone,  Irin  Mage,  was  saved, 
whom  Monan  carried  into  the  heaven.    He  seeing 

•1  The  American  nations  among  whom  a  distinct  and  well  au- 
thenticated myth  of  the  deluge  was  found  are  as  follow  ;  Atha- 
pascas,  Algonkins,  Iroquois,  Cherokees,  Chikasaws,  Caddos, 
Natchez,  Dal<otas,  Apaches,  Navajos,  Mandans,  Pueblo  hidians, 
Aztecs,  Mix  tecs,  Zapotecs,  Tlascalans,  Mechoacans,  Tpltecs, 
Nahuas,  Mayas,  Quiches,  Haitians,  natives  of  Darien  and  Popo- 
yan,  Muyscas,  Quichuas,  Tuppinambas,  Achaguas,  Araucanians, 
and  doubtless  others.  The  article  by  M.  de  Charencey  in  the 
Bevue  Amirim'me,  Le  Deluge,  d'aprh  tes  Traditions  Indiennes 
de  VAmirique  du  Nnrd,  contains  some  valuable  extracts,  but  is 
marred  by  lack  of  criticism  of  sources,  and  makes  no  attempt 
at  analysis,  nor  offers  for  their  existence  a  rational  explana- 
tion. . 


THE  TUPI  FLOCj!)-MYTIL 


227 


all  things  dostroyod,  spoke  thus  to  Monan :  '  Wilt 
thou  also  destroy  the  heavens  and  their  garniture  ? 
Alas !  heneeforth  where  will  bo  our  home  ?  Why 
should  I  live,  since  there  is  none  other  of  my  kind  ? ' 
'J'heu  Monan  was  so  filled  with  pity  that  he  poured  a 
deluging  rain  on  the  earth  which  quenched  the  lire, 
and  llowing  from  all  sides,  formed  the  ocean,  which 
we  called  2)arana^  the  great  waters."  ^ 

In  these  narratives  I  have  not  attempted  to  soften 
the  as2)erities  nor  conceal  the  childishness  which  run 
through  them.  But  there  is  no  occasion  to  be  aston- 
ished  at  these  peculiarities,  nor  to  found  upon  them 
any  disadvantageous  02)inion  of  the  mental  powers  of 
their  authors  and  believers.  We  can  go  back  to  the 
cradle  of  our  own  race  in  Central  Asia,  and  find  tra- 
ditions every  whit  as  infantile.  I  cannot  refrai..  from 
adding  the  earliest  Aryan  myth  of  the  same  great 
occuri'ence,  as  it  is  handed  down  to  us  in  ancient  San- 
scrit literature.  It  will  be  seen  that  it  is  little,  if  at 
all,  superior  to  those  just  rehearsed. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  they  brought  to  Manu 
water  to  wash  himself;  when  he  had  well  washed,  a 
lish  came  into  his  hands. 

"  It  said  to  him  these  words  :  '  Take  care  of  me ;  I 
will  save  thee.'  '  What  wilt  thou  save  me  from  ? ' 
*  A  deluge  will  sweep  away  all  creatures  ;  I  wish  thee 
to  escape.'     '  But  how  shall  I  take  care  of  thee  ?  ' 

"  The  fish  said  :  '  While  we  are  small  there  is  more 


i 


i: 


'A 


^  Une  Fete  Bresilienne  celebre  d  Rouen  en  1550,  par  M.  Ferdi- 
nand Denis,  p.  82.  The  native  words  in  this  account  guarantee 
its  authenticity.  In  the  Tupi  language,  tata,  means  fire ;  jmrana, 
ocean  ;  Monan,  from  mond  to  construct,  to  build.  The  original 
authority  is  Thevet. 


M 


mmammm^ 


i.4«*4.,^*s.,aiiM,i 


228  MYT/rs  OF  ClillATluy,  blUAJdE,  AXD  LAST  DAY. 

than  one  danger  of  (loath,  for  one  fiah  swaHowH  an- 
other. 'l\um  must,  ill  tlie  first  place,  put  nio  in  a 
vase.  Then,  wlion  I  shall  exceed  it  in  size,  thou 
must  dii^  a  deep  ditch,  and  place  me  in  it.  When  I 
grow  too  large  for  it,  throw  nie  in  the  sea,  for  I  shall 
then  be  beyond  the  danger  of  death.'  * 

"Soon  it  became  a  great  fish  ;  it  grew,  in  fact,  as- 
tonishingly. Then  it  said  to  IManu,  '  In  such  a  year 
the  Deluge  will  come.  Thou  must  build  a  vessel, 
and  then  pay  me  homage.  When  the  Avaters  of  the 
Deluge  mount  uj),  enter  the  vessel.  I  will  save 
thee.' 

"  When  ]\Ianu  had  thus  taken  care  of  the  fish,  lie 
put  it  in  the  sea.  The  same  year  that  the  fish  had  sai<l, 
in  this  very  year,  having  built  the  vessel,  he  paid  the 
fish  homage.  Then  the  Deluge  mounting,  ho  enter- 
ed the  vessel.  The  fish  swam  near  him.  'J'o  its 
horn  Mann  fastened  the  ship's  rope,  with  which  the 
fish  passed  the  Mountain  of  the  North. 

"  The  fish  said :  '  See !  I  have  saved  thee.  Fasten 
the  vessel  to  a  tree,  so  that  the  water  does  not  float 
thee  onward  when  thou  art  on  the  mountain  top.  As 
the  water  decreases,  thou  wilt  descend  little  by  little.' 
Thus  Mann  descended  gradually.  Therefore  to  the 
mountain  of  the  north  remains  the  name.  Descent  of 
Manu.  The  Deluge  had  destroyed  all  creatures ; 
Manu  survived  alone."  ^ 

Hitherto  I  have  spoken  only  of  the  last  convulsion 
which  swept  over  the  face  of  the  globe,  and  of  but 
one  cycle  which  preceded  the  present.  Most  of  the 
more  savage  tribes  contented  themselves  with  this, 


'  Professor  X5ve,  ubi  supra,  from  the  Zatapatha  Brahmana. 


THE  EPOCHS  OF  \ATriiK. 


l)ut  it  is  instructive  to  observe  how,  as  tliey  adviineed 
ill  eultiire,  and  the  mind  dwelt  more  intently  on  tho 
great  pn»l)lems  of  IJfe  and  Time,  they  were  im[)elled 
to  remove  t'urtln^r  and  fnrther  the;  dim  and  mysterious 
BeLjinniuLT.  The  Peruvians  inuiLiined  that  tiro  dc- 
structions  had  taken  place,  the  first  by  a  famine,  the 
second  by  a  Hood — aceordiufj  to  some  a  few  only 
eseapino- — but,  after  the  more  widely  accepted  ojjin- 
ion,  aecom})anied  by  tho  al)solute  extirpation  of  the 
race.  Three  eg;4's  Avhich  dropped  from  heaven 
hatched  out  the  present  race  ;  one  of  gold,  from  which 
camo  tho  priests  ;  one  of  silver,  which  produced  the 
warriors  ;  and  tho  hist  of  copper,  source  of  the  com- 
mon people.^ 

Tho  IVI  s  of  Yucatan  increased  the  previous 
•worlds  bj  ..w,  making  the  present  iha  fourth.  'J\vo 
cycles  had  terminated  by  devastating  plagues,  ^i'hey 
were  called  "  the  sudden  deaths,"  for  it  was  said  so 
swift  and  mortal  was  tho  pest,  that  the  buzzards  and 
other  foul  birds  dwelt  in  the  houses  of  the  cities,  and 
ate  tho  bodies  of  their  former  owners.  The  third 
closed  either  by  a  hurricane,  which  blew  from  all 
four  of  the  cardinal  points  at  once,  or  else,  as  others 


i; 


1  Avendano,  Sermones,  Lima,  1G48,  in  Rivoro  and  Tschudi, 
Peruv.  Antiqs.,  p.  114.  In  tlio  year  l(j()0,  Oiiato  found  on  the 
coast  of  Calirornia  a  tribe  'vvlioso  idol  huld  in  one  hand  a  shell 
containing thn.'e  egLfS,  in  the  otiicr  an  ear  of  maize,  while  before 
it  was  placed  a  cup  of  water.  Vizcaino,  who  visited  the  same 
people  a  few  years  afterwards,  mentions  that  they  kept  in  their 
temples  tame  ravens,  and  looked  upon  tliem  as  sacred  birds. 
(Torquemada,  Mun.  IiuL,  lib.  v.  cap.  40  in  "Waitz).  Thus,  in  all 
parts  of  the  continent  do  we  find  the  bird,  as  a  symbol  of  tlie 
clouds,  associated  with  tho  rains  and  the  harvests. 


ri' 


111 


n 


I 


I 


230  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

said,  by  an  inundation,  which  swept  across  the  world, 
swallowing  all  things  in  its  mountainous  surges.^ 

As  might  be  expected,  the  vigorous  intellects  of 
the  Aztecs  impressed  upon  this?  myth  a  fixity  of  out- 
line nowhere  else  met  with  on  the  continent,  and 
wove  it  intimately  into  their  astrological  reveries  and 
religious  theories.  Unaware  of  its  prevalence  under 
more  rudimentary  forms  throughout  the  continent, 
Alexander  von  Humboldt  observed  that,  "  of  all  the 
traits  of  analogy  which  can  be  pointed  out  between 
the  monuments,  manners,  and  traditions  of  Asia  and 
America,  the  most  striking  is  that  offered  by  the 
Mexic?"*  mythology  in  the  cosmogonical  fiction  of 
tlie  periodical  destructions  and  regenerations  of  the 
universe."  ^  Yet  it  is  but  the  same  fiction  that  ex- 
isted elsewhere,  somewhat  more  definitely  outlined. 
There  exists  great  discrepancy  between  the  different 
authorities,  both  as  to  the  number  of  Aztec  ages  or 
Suns,  as  they  were  called,  their  durations,  their  ter- 
minations, and  their  names.  The  preponderance  of 
testimony  is  in  favor  of  four  antecedent  cycles,  the 
present  being  the  fifth.  The  interval  from  the  first 
creation  to  the  commencement  of  the  present  epoch, 
owing  to  the  equivocal  meaning  of  the  numeral  signs 
expressing  it  in  the  picture  writings,  may  have  been 
eiUier  15228,  2316,  or  1404  solar  years.    Why  these 

^  The  deluge  was  called  him  ijecil,  which  according  to  Cogol- 
ludo,  means  ihe  inundation  of  the  trees,  for  all  the  forests  were 
swept  away  (HLst.  de  Yucathan,  lib.  iv.  cap.  5).  Bishop  Landa 
adds,  to  substantiate  the  legend,  that  all  the  woods  of  the  penin- 
sula appear  aa  if  they  had  been  planted  at  one  time,  and  that  to 
look  at  tliem  one  would  say  t^hey  had  been  trimmed  V'ith  scissors. 
(/?eZ.  de  las  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  58,  60.) 

^  Vues  de,i  Cordillhes,  p.  202. 


I 


THE  AZTEC  SUNS. 


231 


! 


numbers  should  have  been  chosen,  no  one  has  guessed. 
It  has  been  looked  for  in  combinations  of  numbers 
connected  with  the  calendar,  but  so  far  in  vain. 

While  most  authorities  agree  as  to  the  character 
of  the  destructions  which  terminated  the  suns,  they 
vary  much  as  to  their  sequence.  Water,  winds,  fire, 
and  hunger,  are  the  agencies,  and  in  one  Codex  (Vati- 
canus)  occur  in  this  order.  Gama  gives  the  sequence, 
hunger,  winds,  fire,  and  water ;  Humboldt,  hunger, 
fire,  winds,  and  water;  Boturini,  water,  hunger, 
winds,  fire.  As  the  cycle  ending  by  a  famine  is 
called  the  Age  of  Earth,  Ternaux-Compans,  the 
distinguished  French  Americaniste^  has  imagined 
that  the  four  Suns  correspond  mystically  to  the 
domination  exercised  in  turn  over  the  world  by  its 
four  constituent  elements.  But  proof  is  wanting 
that  Aztec  philosophers  knew  the  theory  on  which 
this  explanation  reposes. 

Baron  Humboldt  suggested  that  the  suns  were 
"  fictions  of  mythological  astronomy,  modified  either 
by  obscure  reminiscences  of  some  great  revolution 
suffered  by  our  planet,  or  by  physical  hypotheses, 
suggested  by  the  sight  of  marine  petrifactions  and 
fossil  remains ; "  ^  while  the  Abb6  Brasseur,  ip  his 
works  on  ancient  Mexico,  interprets  them  as  exagge- 
rated references  to  historical  or  geological  events. 
As  no  solution  can  be  accepted  not  equally  appli- 
cable to  the  same  myth  as  it  appears  in  Yucatan, 
Peru,  and  the  hunting  tribes,  and  to  the  parallel 
teachings  of  the  Voluspa,  the  Stoics,  the  Celts,  and 
the    Brahmans,   both  of    these    must   be   rejected. 

1  Ubi  snp.,  p.  207. 


t  1  1a 


',■11 


( I 


'  i 


I 


I 


i    ?l 


232  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

And  although  the  Hindoo  legend  is  so  close  to  the 
Aztec  that  it,  too,  defined  four  ages,  each  termina- 
ting by  a  general  catastrophe,  and  each  catastrophe 
exactly  the  same  in  both,'  yet  this  is  not  at  all  indica- 
tive of  a  derivation  from  one  original,  but  simply  an 
illustration  how  the  human  mind,  under  the  stimu- 
lus of  the  same  intellectual  cravings,  produces  like 
results.  What  the  cravings  are  has  already  been 
shown. 

The  reason  for  adopting  four  ages,  thus  making  the 
present  the  fifth,  probably  arose  from  the  sacredness 
of  that  number  in  general ;  but  directly,  because 
this  was  the  number  of  secular  days  in  the  INIexican 
week.  A  parallel  is  offered  by  the  Hebrew  narative. 
In  it  six  epochs  or  days  precede  the  seventh  or  pres- 
ent cycle,  in  which  the  creative  power  rests.  This 
latter  corresponded  to  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  the  day 
of  repose  ;  and  in  the  Mexican  calendar  each  fifth 
day  was  also  a  day  of  repose,  employed  in  marketing 
and  pleasure. 

Doubtless  the  theory  of  the  Ages  of  the  world 
was  long  in  vogue  among  the  Aztecs  before  it  re- 
ceived the  definite  form  in  which  w^e  now  have  it ; 
and  as  this  was  acquired  long  after  the  calendar  was 
fixed,  it  is  every  way  probable  that  the  latter  was 
used  as  a  guide  to  the  former.  Echevarria,  a  good 
authority  on  such  matters,  says  the  number  of  the 
Suns  was  agreed  upon  at  a  congress  of  astrologists, 

^  At  least  this  is  the  doctrine  of  one  of  the  Shastas.  The  race, 
it  teaches,  has  been  destroyed  four  times;  first  by  water,  sec- 
ondly by  winds,  thirdly  the  earth  swallowed  them,  and  lastly 
fire  consumed  them.  (Sepp,,//e/(/e«//tMWi  und  Christenlhum,  i.  p. 
191.) 


i;i 


THE  AZTEC  SUNS. 


233 


within  the  memory  of  a  tradition.^  Now  in  the  cal- 
endar, these  signs  occur  in  the  order,  earth,  air, 
water,  fire,  corresponding  to  the  days  distinguished 
by  the  symbols  house,  rabbit,  reed,  and  flint.  This 
sequence,  commencing  with  Tochtli  (rabbit,  air), 
is  that  given  as  that  of  the  Suns  in  the  Codex 
Chimalpopoca,  translated  by  Brasseur,  though  it 
seems  a  taint  of  European  teaching  when  it  is 
added  that  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  creation  man 
was  formed.^ 

Neither  Jews  nor  Aztecs,  nor  indeed  any  American 
nation,  appear  to  have  supposed,  with  some  of  the 
old  philosophers,  that  the  present  was  an  exact  repe- 
tition of  previous  cycles,''  but  rather  that  each  was 
an  improvement  on  the  preceding,  a  step  in  endless 
progress.  Nor  did  either  connect  these  beliefs  with 
astronomical  reveries  of  a  great  year,  defined  by  the 
retui'n  of  the  heavenly  bodies  to  one  relative  position 
in  the  heavens.  The  latter  seems  characteristic  of 
the  realism  of  Europe,  the  former  of  the  idealism  of 
the  Orient ;  both  inconsistent  with  the  meagre  as- 
tronomy and  more  scanty  metaphysics  of  the  red  race. 

The  expectation  of  the  end  of  the  world  is  a  nat- 
ural complement  to  the  belief  in  its  periodical  de- 
structions.  As  at  certain  times  past  the  equipoise  of 


M 


^  Ecaevarria  y  Veitia,  Hist,  de  la  Nueva  Espana,  lib.  i.  cap.  4, 
in  Waitz. 

^  Brasseur,  Hist,  du  Mex/que,  iii.  p.  495. 

^  The  contrary  has  indeed  been  inferred  from  such  expressions 
of  the  writer  of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  as ,  "  tliat  whicli  hath 
been  is  now,  andtliat  which  is  to  be,  hath  already  been  "  (chap, 
iii.  15),  and  the  like,  but  they  are  susceptible  of  an  application 
entir.'ly  siibj-^ctive. 


I    I 


i 


284  MYTHS  OF  CREATION,  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

nature  was  lost,  and  the  elements,  breaking  the  chain 
of  laws  that  bound  them,  ran  riot  over  the  universe, 
involving  all  life  in  one  mad  havoc  and  desolation, 
so  in  the  future  we  have  to  expect  that  day  of  doom, 
when  the  ocean  tides  shall  obey  no  shore,  but  over- 
whelm the  continentswiththeir  mountainous  billows 
or  the  fire,  now  chafing  in  volcanic  craters  and  smok- 
ing springs,  will  leap  forth  on  the  forests  and  grassy 
meadows,  wrapping  all  things  in  a  winding  sheet  of 
flame,  and  melting  the  very  elements  with  fervid  heat. 
Then,  in  the  language  of  the  Norse  prophetess, 
"  shall  the  sun  grow  dark,  the  land  sink  in  the  wa- 
ters, the  bright  stars  be  quenched,  and  high  flames 
climb  heaven  itself."  ^  These  fearful  forebodings 
have  cast  their  shadow  on  every  literature.  The 
seeress  of  the  north  does  but  paint  in  wilder  colors 
the  terrible  pictures  of  Seneca,'^  and  the  sibyl  of  the 
capitol  only  re-echoes  the  inspired  predictions  of 
Malachi.     Well  has  the  Christian  poet  said : — 

Dies  ira3,  dies  ilia, 
Solvet  saeclum  in  favilld, 
Teste  David  cum  Sibyld. 

Savage  races,  isolated  in  the  impenetrable  forests 
of  another  continent,  could  not  escape  this  fearful 
looking  for  of  destruction  to  come.  It  oppressed 
their  souls  like  a  weight  of  lead.  On  the  last  night 
of  each  cycle  of  fifty-two  years,  the  Aztecs  extin- 
guished every  fire,  and  proceeded,  in  solemn  proces- 
sion, to  some  sacred  spot.  Then  the  priests,  with 
awe  and  trembling,  sought  to  kindle  a  new  fire  by 

^  Voluspa,  xiv.  51. 

2  Natur.  Qucestiones,  iii.  cap.  27. 


I 


THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD. 


285 


[rests 
larful 
jssed 
light 
Ixtin- 
[oces- 
hvith 
re  by 


friction.  Momentous  was  the  endeavor,  for  did  it 
fail,  their  fathers  had  taught  them  on  the  morrow 
no  sun  would  rise,  and  darkness,  death,  and  the 
waters  would  descend  forever  on  this  beautiful 
world.  Quetzalcoatl,  he  who  had  made  it,  would 
destroy  it.^ 

The  same  terror  inspired  the  Peruvians  at  every 
eclipse,  for  some  day,  taught  the  Amautas,  the 
shadow  will  veil  the  sun  forever,  and  land,  moon,  and 
stars  will  be  wrapt  in  a  devouring  conflagration  to 
know  no  regeneration ;  or  a  drought  will  wither 
every  herb  of  the  field,  suck  up  the  Avaters,  and 
leave  the  race  to  perish  to  the  last  creature ;  or  the 
moon  will  fall  from  her  place  ih  the  heavens  and 
involve  all  things  in  her  own  ruin,  a  figure  of  speech 
meaning  that  the  waters  would  submerge  the  land.*^ 
In  that  dreadful  day,  thouglit  the  Algonkins,  when 
in  anger  Michabo  will  send  a  mortal  pestilence  to 
destroy  the  nations,  or,  stamping  his  foot  on  the 
ground,  flames  will  burst  forth  to  consume  the  habit- 
able land,  only  a  pair,  or  only,  at  most,  those  who 
have  maintained  inviolate  the  institutions  he  ordain- 
ed, will  he  protect  and  preserve  to  inhabit  the  new 
world  he  will  then  fabricate.  Therefore  they  do 
not  speak  of  this  catastrophe  as  the  end  of  the  world, 
but  use  one  of  those  nice  grammitical  distinctions 
so  frequent  in  American  aboriginal  languages,  and 
which  can  only  be  imitated,  not  interpreted,  in  ours, 

1  Coikx  TelL-Itemensh,  p.  199.  Such  expression?  should 
place  bej'ond  all  doubt  the  purely  mythical  character  of 
Quetzalcoatl. 

2  Velasco,  Hist,  du  Royaume  du  Quito,  p.  105;  Navarrete, 
Viages,  iii.  p.  M4. 


I 


I       «' 


i  I 


I 

(ll 


I 


ll' 


236  MYTHS  OF  CREATION.  DELUGE,  AND  LAST  DAY. 

signifying  "  when  it  will  be  near  its  end,"  "  when  it 
will  no  longer  be  available  for  man."  ^ 

An  ancient  prophecy  handed  down  from  their  ^ 
ancestors  warns  the  Winnebagoes  that  their  nation 
shall  be  annihilated  at  the  close  of  the  thirteenth 
generation.  Ten  have  already  passed,  and  that  now 
living  has  appointed  ceremonies  to  propitiate  the 
powers  of  heaven,  and  mitigate  its  stern  decree." 
Well  may  they  be  about  it,  for  there  is  a  gloomy 
probability  that  the  warning  came  from  no  false 
prophet.  Few  tribes  were  destitute  of  such  presenti- 
ments. The  ChikasawSjthe  Mandans  of  the  Missouri, 
the  Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico,  the  Muyscas  of 
Bogota,  the  Botocudos  of  Brazil,  the  Araucanians  of 
Chili,  have  been  asserted  on  testimony  that  leaves  no 
room  for  scepticism,  to  have  entertained  such  fore- 
bodings from  immemorial  time.  Enough  for  the 
purpose  if  the  list  is  closed  with  the  prediction  of  a 
Maya  priest,  cherished  by  the  inhabitants  of  Yucatan 
long  before  the  Spaniard  desolated  their  stately  cities. 
It  is  one  of  those  preserved  by  Father  Lizana,  cur& 
of  Itzamal,  and  of  which  he  gives  the  original. 
Other  witnesses  inform  us  that  this  nation  "  had  a 
tradition  that  the  world  would  end," '  and  probably, 
like  the  Greeks  and  Aztecs,  they  supposed  the  gods 
would  perish  with  it. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  ages,  it  hath  been  decreed, 
Shall  perish  and  vanish  each  weak  god  of  men, 
And  the  world  shall  be  purged  with  a  ravening  fire. 

"^  Rel.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  An.  1637,  p.  54.   Schoolcraft,  Ind. 
Tribes,  i.  p.  319,  iv.  p.  420. 
2  Schoolcraft,  ibid. ,  iv.  p.  240. 
^  CogoUudo,  Hist,  de  Yucalhan,  lib.  iv.  cap.  7. 


i-t 


ban 


bly, 

ods 


THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  287 

Happy  the  man  in  that  terrible  day, 

Who  b(!wails  with  contrition  the  sins  of  his  life,* 

And  njeets  without  flinching  the  fiery  ordeal."  ' 

*  The  Spanish  of  Lizana  is — 

*'  '^n  la  ultima  edad,  segun  esta  determinado, 
Avra  fin  el  culto  de  dioses  vanos  ; 
Y  el  mundo  sera  purificado  con  fuego. 
El  que  esto  viere  sera  Uamado  dichoso 
JSi  con  dolor  llorare  sus  pecados." 

(Hist,  de  Nuestra  Setlora  de  Itzamal,  in  Brasseur,  Hist,  du 
Mexi^ue,  ii.  p.  603.)  I  have  attempted  to  obtain  a  more  literal 
rendering  from  the  original  Maya,  but  have  not  been  successful. 


Tnd. 


;   Si 


i      i^' 


Si 


CHAPTER   VIII.  V 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN. 

Usually  man  is  the  EARTH-BonN,  both  in  language  and  myths.— Illnstra- 
tiona  from  the  legends  of  the  Caribs,  Ai)alachian8,  Iroquois,  Quichuas, 
Aztecj,  and  others. — The  underworld. —Man  the  product  of  ono  of  the 
primal  creative  jiowers,  the  Spirit,  or  the  Water,  in  tlie  myths  of  the 
Atliapascas,  Eskimos,  Moxos,  and  otl  srs.— Never  literally  derived  from 
an  inferior  species. 

NO  man  can  escape  the  importunate  question,whence 
am  I  ?  The  first  replies  framed  to  meet  it  possess 
an  interest  to  the  thoughtful  mind,  beyond  that  of 
mere  fables.  They  illustrate  the  position  in  creation 
claimed  by  our  race,  and  the  early  workings  of  self- 
consciousness.  Often  the  oldest  terms  for  man  are 
synopses  of  these  replies,  and  merit  a  more  than  pass- 
ing contemplation. 

The  seed  is  hidden  in  the  earth.  Warmed  by  the 
sun,  watered  by  the  rain,  presently  it  bursts  its  dark 
prison-house,  unfolds  its  delicate  le.ives,  blossoms, 
and  matures  its  fruit.  Its  work  done,  the  earth 
draws  it  to  itself  again,  resolves  the  various  struc- 
tures into  their  original  mould,  and  the  unending 
round  recommences. 

This  is  the  marvellous  process  that  struck  the  prim- 
itive mind.  Out  of  the  Earth  rises  life,  to  it  it 
returns.  She  it  is  .who  guards  all  germs,  nourishes 
all  beings.  The  Aztecs  painted  her  as  a  woman  with 
countless  breasts,  the  Peruvians  called  her  Mama 
Allpa,  mother  Earth;  in  the  Algonkin  tongue  the 
words  for  earth,  mother,  father,  are  from  the  same 


THE  WORD  FOR  MAN. 


239 


ssoms, 
earth 
jtruc- 
iding 


root.'  Homo.,  Adam^  cJiamaiffenes,  what  do  all  these 
words  mean  but  the  earth-born,  the  son  of  the  soil, 
repeated  in  the  poeticlanguage  of  Attica  in  anthroposj 
he  who  springs  up  as  a  flower  ? 

The  word  that  corresponds  to  the  Latin  Jiomo  in 
American  languages  has  such  singular  uniformity  in 
so  many  of  them  that  we  might  be  tempted  to  regard 
it  as  a  fragment  of  some  ancient  and  common  tongue, 
their  parent  stem.  In  the  Eskimo  it  is  inuk,  innuk, 
plural  innuit ;  in  Athapasca  it  is  dlnni,  tenn^  ;  in  Al- 
gonkin,  ininij  hnni,  inwi ;  in  Iroquois,  onwi,,  enilia ; 
in  the  Otomi  of  Mexico  n-aniche  ;  in  tlie  INIaya,  inic, 
winic^winak ;  all  in  North  America,  and  the  num- 
ber might  bo  extended.  Of  thooo  only  the  last  men- 
tioned can  plausibly  bo  traced  to  a  radical  (unless 
the  Iroquois  onivi  is  f)  om  onnha  life,  onnhe  to  live). 
This  Father  Ximenes  derives  from  win^  meaning  to 
grow,  to  gain,  to  increase,''  in  which  the  analogy  to 
vegetable  life  is  not  far  off,  an  analogy  strengthened 
by  the  myth  of  that  stock  which  relates  that  the  first 
of  men  were  formed  of  the  flour  of  maize.^ 

^  See  Mr.  Trumbull's  note  to  Roger  "Williams'  Key  into  the 
Languages  of  America,  p.  50. 

^  Vocahulario  Quiche,  s.  v.,  ed.  Lrasseur,  Paris,  1862. 

8  The  Eskimo  innuk,  man,  moans  also  a  possessor  or  owner; 
the  yelk  of  an  egg ;  and  the  pus  of  an  abscess  (Egcde,  Nc  h- 
richten  von  Grbnlaml,  p.  lOO).  From  it  is  derived  innuwok,  to 
live,  life.  Probably  innuk  also  means  the  semen  masculimtyny 
and  in  its  identification  with  pus,  may  not  there  be  the  solution 
of  that  strange  riddle  which  in  so  many  myths  of  the  West  In- 
dies and  Central  America  makes  the  first  of  men  to  be  "  the 
purulent  one?"  (See  ante,  p.  141.)  Minho  in  Otchipwe  means 
"  I  have  a  rimning  abscess, "  and  also  "  I  bring  forth,  I  produce, 
beget."     liaraga,  Otchipwe  Diet.  s.  v. 


i! 


«i:ii 


240 


THE  OniGfy  OF  ^tAN. 


In  many  other  instances  religious  legeiul  carries 
out  this  idea.  Tlie  mythical  ancestor  of  the  Caribs 
created  liis  offspring'  Uy  sowing  the  soil  witli  stones 
or  with  the  fruit  of  the  jMauritius  palm,  Avhich 
sprouted  forth  into  men  and  women/  while  the 
Yurucares,  much  of  whose  mythology  was  perhaps 
borrowed  from  the  Peruvians,  clotlu'd  this  crude 
tenet  in  a  somewhat  more  jioetic  form,  fahling  that 
at  the  beginning  the  first  of  men  were  pegged,  Ariel- 
like,  in  the  knotty  entrails  of  an  enormous  bole,  until 
the  god  Tiri — a  second  Prospero — released  them  by 
cleaving  it  in  twain. '^ 

As  in  oriental  legends  the  origin  of  man  from  the 
earth  was  veiled  under  the  story  that  he  was  the  pro- 
geny of  some  mountain  fecundated  by  the  embrace 
of  Mithras  or  Jupiter,  so  the  Indians  often  pointed  to 
some  height  or  some  cavern,  as  the  spot  whence  the 
first  of  men  issued,  adult  and  armed,  from  the  womb 
of  the  All-mother  Earth.  The  oldest  name  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains  is  Paemotinck  or  Pemolnick, 
an  Algonkin  word,  the  meaning  of  which  is  said  to  be 
"  the  origin  of  the  Indians."  ^ 

1  INIuller,  Amer.  Urrellg.,  pp.  109,  22!). 

2  D'Orbigny,  Fmg..  iVune  Voy.  dans  rAm^r.  HUrid.,  p.  512. 
It  is  still  a  mooted  j)oiut  whence  Shakspearo  drew  the  plot  of 
The  Tempest.  The  coincidence  mentioned  in  the  text  between 
some  parts  of  it  and  South  American  mythology  does  not  ctand 
alone.  Caliban,  the  savage  and  brutish  native  of  the  island,  is 
undoubtedly  the  word  Carib,  often  spelt  Caribani,  and  Calibani 
in  older  writers  ;  and  his  "  dam's  god  Setebos  "  was  tho  supremo 
divinity  of  the  Patagonians  when  first  visited  by  Magellan. 
(Pigafetta,  Viaggio  intorno  al  Globo,  Germ.  Trans.:  Gotlia, 
1801,  p.  217.) 

^  Both  Lederer  and  Joliu  Bartram  assign  it  this  meaning. 


THE  HOLY  HILL. 


241 


The  Witchitas,  who  dwelt  on  the  Red  River  among 
the  mountains  named  after  them,  have  a  tradition 
that  their  progenitors  issued  from  the  rocks  about 
tlieir  homes ;  ^  the  Blackfoot  legends  point  for  the 
origin  of  their  clans  to  Nina  Stahu,  "  chief  of  moun- 
tains," a  bold  square-topped  peak  of  the  Rocky 
mountains  near  the  great  inland  lake  Omaxeen ; 
and  many  other  tribes,  tho  Takahlis,  Navajos,  Coyo- 
teras,  and  the  Haitians,  for  instance,  set  up  this 
claim  to  be  autochthones.  JMost  writers  have  inter- 
preted this  simply  to  mean  that  they  know  nothing 
at  all  about  their  origin,  or  that  they  coined  these 
fables  merely  to  strengthen  the  title  to  the  territory 
they  inhabited  when  they  saw  the  whites  eagerly 
snatching  it  away  on  every  pretext.  No  doubt  there 
is  some  truth  in  this,  but  if  they  be  carefully  sifted, 
there  is  sometimes  a  deep  histori  al  significance  in 
these  myths,  which  has  hitherto  escaped  the  observa- 
tion of  students.  An  instance  presents  itself  in  our 
own  country. 

All  those  tribes,  the  Creeks,  Seminoles,  Choctaws, 
Chicasaws,  and  Natchez,  who,  according  to  tradi- 
tion, were  in  remote  times  banded  into  one  common 
confederacy,  unanimously  located  their  earliest  an- 
cestry near  an  artificial  eminence  in  the  valley  of 
the  Big  Black  River,  in  the  Natchez  country,  whence 
they  pretended  to  have  emerged.  Fortunately  we 
have  a  description,  though  a  brief  one,  of  this  inter- 
esting monument  from  the  pen  of  an  intelligent  trav- 


.5'  t 


! 


ling. 


Gallatin  gives  in  the  Powhatan  dialect  the  word  for  mountain  as 
pomottinl-e,  doubtless  aiK)ther  form  of  the  same. 
1  Marcy,  Exploration  of  the  Red  River,  p.  69. 

16 


: 


242 


THE  OIUGIN  OF  MAN. 


ollur.  It  is  (loscribc'd  as  "an  elevation  of  earth 
ftbont  half  a  mile  square  and  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
liigh.      Friira   its   northeast  corner  a  wall  of  equal 


half 


the  hi'^h 


heii»ht  extends  for  near 
This  was  the  Nunne  Chaha  or  Nunne  IIani<,'eh,  tho 
High  Hill,  or  the  Bending  Hill  (i)roi)erly  Nanili 
waiya,  sloping  hill),  famous  in  Choctaw  stories,  and 
which  Captain  Gregg  found  they  have  not  yet  for- 
gotten in  their  western  home.  The  legend  was  tl\at  in 
its  centre  was  a  cave,  the  house  of  the  Master  of 
Breath.  Here  ho  made  the  first  men  from  the  clay 
around  him,  and  as  at  that  time  the  waters  covered 
the  earth,  he  raised  the  wall  to  dry  them  on.  When 
the  soft  mud  had  hardened  into  elastic  flesh  and  firm 
bone,  he  banished  the  waters  to  their  channels  and 
beds,  and  gave  the  dry  land  to  his  creatures.^ 

A  parallel  to  this  southern  legend  occurs  among 
the  Six  Nations  of  the  north.  They  with  one  con- 
sent, if  we  may  credit  the  account  of  Cusic,  looked 
to  a  mountain  near  the  falls  of  the  Oswego  River  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  as  the  locality  where  their 
forefathers  first  saw  the  light  of  day,  and  that  they 
had  some  such  legend  the  name  Oneida,  people  of 
the  Stone,  would  seem  to  testify. 

^  Compare  Romans,  Hist,  of  Florida,  pp.  58,  71;  Adair,  Hisf. 
rfthe  North  Am.  Indians,  p.  195;  and  Greggf,  Commerce  of  the 
Prn  'ries,  ii.  p.  205.  The  description  of  the  mound  is  by  Major 
ILiart,  in  the  Trans,  of  the  Am.  Philos.  Soc,  iii.  p.  210.  (1st 
series.)  The  Muskokees  call  this  mountain  rvne-em-mekho, 
King  of  mountains,  and  ekvtwJive-em-mekko,  King  of  the  land 
or  of  the  world.  In  its  summit  was  located  "  the  mouth  of  the 
earth,"  and  from  it  "a, great  fire  blazed  upward  and  made  a 
singing  noise."  See  D.  G.  Brinton,  The  National  Legend  of  the 
Chahta  Mil  Ivkee  Tribes,  pp.  7,  10. 


tho 


THE  SEVEN  CAVERNS. 


213 


I  <l 


The  cave  of  Pacari  Tampu,  the  Lodgings  of  tho 
Dawn,  or  the  Phiee  of  liii'tli,was  five  leagues  distant 
from  Cuzco,  surrounded  ])y  a  sacred  grove  and  in- 
closed with  temples  of  great  antiquity.  From  its 
hallowed  recesses  the  mythical  civilizers  of  Peru,  tho 
first  of  men,  emerged,  and  in  it  during  the  time  of 
the  flood,  tho  remnants  of  the  race  escaped  the  fury 
of  tho  waves.^  Viracocha  himself  is  said  to  have 
dwelt  there,  though  it  hardly  needed  this  evideiico 
to  render  it  certain  that  this  consecrated  cavern  is 
but  a  localization  of  tho  general  myth  of  the  dawn 
rising  from  the  deep.  It  refers  us  for  its  prototype 
to  tho  Quichua  allegory  of  the  morning  light  Hing- 
ing its  beams  like  snow-white  foam  athwart  the  waves 
of  Lake  Titicaca. 

An  ancient  legend  of  the  Aztecs  derived  their 
nation  from  a  place  called  Chicomoztoc,  the  Seven 
Caverns,  located  north  of  Mexico.  Antiquaries  have 
indulged  in  all  sorts  of  speculations  as  to  what  this 
means.  Sahagun  explains  it  as  a  valley  so  named ; 
Clavigero  supposes  it  to  have  been  a  city ;  Hamilton 
Smith,  and  after  him  Schoolcraft,  construed  caverns 
to  be  a  figure  of  speech  for  the  boats  in  which  the 
early  Americans  paddled  across  from  Asia  (!)  ;  tho 
Abbd  Brasseur  confounds  it  with  Aztlan,  and  very 
many  have  discovered  in  it  a  distinct  reference  to  the 
fabulous  "seven  cities  of  Cibola"  and  the  Casas 
Grandes,  ruins  of  large  buildings  of  unburnt  brick  in 
the  valley  of  the  River  Gila.  From  tliis  story  arose 
the  supposed  sevenfold  division  of  the  Kahuas,  a 
division  which  never  existed  except  in  the  imagina- 


^  Balboa,  Hist,  du  Pcrou,  p.  4. 


»■  1 


244 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 


t 


I 


tion  of  Europeans.  When  Torquemada  adds  that 
seven  hero  gods  ruled  in  Chicomoztoc  and  were  the 
progenitors  of  all  its  inhabitants,  when  one  of  them 
turns  out  to  be  Xelhua,  the  giant  who  with  six  others 
escaped  the  flood  by  ascending  the  mountain  of  Tlaloc 
in  the  terrestrial  paradise  and  afterwards  built  the 
pyramid  of  Cholula,  and  when  we  remember  that  in 
one  of  the  flood-myths  sev^n  persons  were  said  to  have 
escaped  the  waters ;  further,  Avhen  we  find  in  Quiche 
legend  the  parallel  story  of  Tulanzu,  the  Seven  Cav- 
erns, from  which  proceeded  the  four  primeval  men,  the 
four  winds,^  the  whole  narrative  acquires  a  fabulous 
aspect  that  shuts  it  out  from  history,  and  brands  it  as 
one  of  those  fictions  of  the  origin  of  man  from  the 
earth  so  common  to  the  race.  Fictions,  yet  truths  ; 
for  caverns  and  hollow  trees  were  in  fact  the  houses 
and  temples  of  our  first  parents,  and  from  them  they 
went  forth  to  conquer  and  adorn  the  world ;  and 
from  the  inorganic  constituents  of  the  soil  acted  on 
by  Light,  touched  by  Divine  Force,  vivified  by  the 
Spirit,  did  in  reality  the  first  of  men  proceed. 

This  cavern,  which  thus  dimly  lingered  in  the  mem- 
ories of  nations,  occasionally  expanded  to  a  nether 
world  imagined  to  underlie  this  of  ours,  and  still 
inhabited  by  beings  of  our  kind,  who  have  never  been 
lucky  enough  to  discover  its  exit.  The  Mandans  find 
Minnetarees  on  the  Missouri  River  supposed  this  exit 
was  near  a  certain  hill  in  their  territory,  and  as  it 
had  been,  as  it  were,  the  womb  of  the  earth,  the  same 
power  was  attributed  to  it  that  in  ancient  times  en- 
dowed various  shrines  with  such  charms  ;  and  thither 

^  Ximenes,  Or.de  los  Indios,  p.  ISO. 


THE  MYTH  OF  THE  UNDER-WORLD. 


245 


jn  em- 
ether 
still 
Ijeen 
s  and 
,s  exit 
as  it 
same 
s  en- 
lither 


the  barren  wives  of  their  nation  made  frequent 
pilgrimages  when  they  would  become  mothers.'  The 
Mandans  added  the  somewhat  puerile  fable  that  the 
means  of  ascent  had  been  a  grapevine,  by  which 
many  ascended  and  descended,  until  one  day  an  im- 
moderately fat  old  lady,  anxious  to  get  a  look  at  the 
upper  earth,  broke  it  with  her  weight,  and  prevented 
any  further  communication. 

Such  tales  of  an  under-world  are  very  frequent 
among  the  Indians,  and  are  a  very  natural  outgrowth 
of  the  literal  belief  that  the  race  is  earth-born. 

Man  is  indeed  like  the  grass  that  springs  up  and 
soon  withers  away ;  but  he  is  also  more  than  this. 
The  quintessence  of  dust,  he  is  a  son  of  the  gods  as 
Veil  as  a  son  of  the  soil.  He  is  the  direct  product  of 
the  great  creative  power ;  therefore  all  the  Atha- 
pascan tribes  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — the 
Kenai,  the  Kolushes,  and  the  Atnai — claim  descent 
from  a  raven — from  that  same  mic?htv  cloud-bird 
who  in  the  beginning  of  things  seized  the  elements 
and  1  ought  the  world  from  the  abyss  of  the  primi- 
tive ocean.  Those  of  the  same  stock  situate  more 
eastwardly,  the  Dogribs,  the  Chepewyans,  the  Hare 
Indians,  and  also  the  west  coast  Eskimos,  and  the 
natives  of  the  Aleutian  Isles,  all  believe  that  they 
have  sprung  from  a  dog.'^  The  latter  animal,  we  iiavo 
already  seen,  both  in  the  old  and  new  world  was  a 
frequent  symbol  of  the  water  goddess.  Therefor*;  in 
these  myths,  which  are  found  over  so  many  thousand 

^  Long's  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  i.  p.  274  ;  Cat- 
lin's  Letters,  i.  p.  178. 

^  Richardson,  Arctic  Erpedifion,  pp.  239,  247;  Klemm,  Cul~ 
twujeschichte  der  MenschJiclt,  ii.  p.  316. 


I    II 


246 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN. 


square  leagues,  we  cannot  be  in  error  in  perceiving  a 
reflex  of  their  cosraogonical  traditions  already  dis- 
cusp  i,  in  which  from  the  winds  and  the  waters, 
represented  here  under  their  emblems  of  the  bird 
and  the  dog,  all  animate  life  proceeded. 

Without  this  symbolic  coloring,  a  tribe  to  the  south 
01  hem,  a  band  of  the  Minnetarees,  had  the  crude 
tradition  that  their  first  progenitor  emerged  from  the 
Avaters,  bearing  in  his  hand  an  ear  of  maizc,^  very 
much  as  Viracocha  and  his  companio'ns  rose  from  the 
sacred  waves  of  Lake  Titicaca,  or  as  the  Moxos 
imagined  that  they  were  descended  from  the  lakes 
and  rivers  on  whose  banks  their  villages  were 
situated. 

These  myths,  and  many  others,  hint  of  general 
conceptions  of  life  and  the  Avorld,  wide-spread  theo- 
ries of  ancient  date,  such  as  we  are  not  accustomed 
to  expect  among  savage  nations,  such  as  may  very 
excusably  excite  a  doubt  as  to  their  native  origin, 
but  a  doubt  infallibly  dispelled  by  a  careful  compari- 
son of  the  best  authorities.  Is  it  that  hitlierto,  in 
the  pride  of  intellectual  culture,  we  have  never  done 
justice  to  the  thinking  faculty  of  those  whom  we  call 
barbarians  ?  Or  shall  we  accept  the  only  other  alter- 
native, that  these  are  the  unappreciated  heirlooms 
bequeathed  a  rude  race  by  a  period  of  higher  civiliza- 
tion, long  since  extinguished  by  constant  wars  and 
ceaseless  fear  ?  We  are  not  yet  ready  to  answer 
these  questions.  For.a  long  time  the  latter  was  ac- 
cepted as  the  true  solution,  but  rather  from  the  pre- 


I 


^  Long,  Expcd.  to  the  Rockij  Moimtains,  i.  p.  320.  A  more 
rocent  veraion  is  given  by  Dr.  "\V.  Matthews,  Ilidatsa  Grammar, 
p.  17. 


THE  CHILDREN  OF  THE   WOLF. 


^v 


conceived  theory  of  a  state  of  primitive  civilization 
from  which  man  fell,  than  from  ascertained  facts. 

It  would,  perhaps,  be  pushing  symbolism  too  far 
to  explain  as  an  emblem  of  the  primitive  waters  the 
coyote,  which,  according  to  the  Root-Diggers  of  Cali- 
fornia, brought  their  ancestors  into  the  world  ;  or  the 
wolf,  which  the  Lenni  Lenape  pretended  released 
mankind  from  the  dark  bowels  (tf  the  earth  by 
scratching  away  the  soil.  They  should  rather  be 
interpreted  by  the  curious  custom  of  i.-e  Toukaways, 
a  wild  people  in  Texas,  of  predatory  and  unruly  dis- 
position. They  celebrate  their  origin  by  a  grand 
annual  dance.  One  of  them,  naked  as  he  was  born, 
is  buried  in  the  earth.  The  others,  clothed  in  wolf- 
skins, walk  over  him,  snuff  around  him,  howl  in 
lupine  style,  and  finally  dig  him  up  with  their  nails. 
The  leading  wolf  then  solemnly  places  a  bow  and 
arrow  in  his  hands,  and  to  his  inquiry  as  to  what  he 
must  do  for  a  living  paternally  advises  him  "  to  do 
as  the  wolves  do  — rob,  kill,  and  murder,  rove  from 
place  to  place,  and  never  cultivate  the  soil."  ^  Most 
wise  and  fathei^y  counsel!  But  what  is  there  new 
under  the  sun?  Three  thousand  years  ago  '  e  Hir- 
pini,  or  Wolves,  an  ancient  Sabine  tribe,  were  wont 
to  collect  on  Mount  Soracte,  and  there  go  through 
certain  rites  in  memory  of  an  oracle  which  predicted 
their  extinction  when  they  ceased  to  gain  their  living 
as  Avolves  by  violence  and  plunder.  Therefore  they 
dressed  in  wolf-skins,  ran  with  barks  and  howls  over 
burning  coals,  and  gnawed  wolfishly  whatever  they 
could  seize.'^ 


\   \ 


1  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Trlhes,  v.  p.  683. 

*  Schwarz,  Urttprung  der  3fj/(hologie^  p.  12JL 


248 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  MAN. 


11 


Though  liasty  writers  have  often  said  that  the  In- 
dian tribes  claim  literal  descent  from  different  wild 
beasts,  probably  in  all  other  instances,  as  in  these, 
this  will  prove,  on  examination,  to  be  an  error  rest- 
ing on  a  misapp'  ohension  arising  from  the  habit  of 
the  natives  of  aviop'ing  as  their  totem  or  clan7mark 
the  figure  and  name  of  some  animal,  or  else,  in  an 
ignorance  of  the  animate  symbols  employed  Avith 
such  marked  preference  by  the  red  race  to  express 
abstract  ideas.  In  some  cases,  doubtless,  the  natives 
themselves  came,  in  time,  to  confound  the  symbol 
with  the  idea,  by  that  familiar  process  of  personifica- 
tion and  conseqr-^nt  debasement  exemplified  in  the 
history  of  every  religion ;  but  I  do  not  believe  that 
a  single  example  could  be  found  where  an  Indian 
tribe  had  a  tradition  whose  real  purport  was  that 
man  came  by  natxiral  process  of  descent  from  an 
ancestor,  a  brute. 

The'  reflecting  mind  will  not  be  offended  at  the 
contradictions  in  these  different  myths,  for  a  myth  is, 
in  one  sense,  a  theory  of  natural  phenomena  ex- 
pressed in  the  form  of  a  narrative.  Often  several 
explanations  seem  equally  satisfactory  for  the  same 
fact,  and  the  mind  hesitates  to  choose,  and  rather 
accepts  them  all  than  reject  any.  Then,  again,  an 
expression  current  as  a  metaphor  by-and-by  crystal- 
lizes into  a  dogma,  and  becomes  the  nucleus  of  a  new 
mythological  growth.  These  are  familiar  processes 
to  one  versed  in  such  studies,  and  involve  no  logical 
contradiction,  because  they  are  never  required  to  be 
reconciled. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


Universality  of  the  belief  in  a  soul  aiid  a  future  state  shown  by  the  aborig- 
inal tongues,  by  expressed  opinions,  and  by  sepulchral  rites. — The  future 
world  never  a  place  of  rewards  and  punishments. — ^The  house  of  the 
Sun  the  heaven  of  the  red  man. — The  terrestrial  paradise  and  the  under- 
world.— Cupay. — Xibalba. — Mictlan. — Metempsychosis  ? — Belief  in  a 
resurrection  of  the  dead  almost  universal. 

I'^HE  missionary  Charlevoix  wrote  several  excellent 
works  on  America  toward  the  beginning  of  tlie 
last  century,  and  he  is  often  quoted  by  later  authors  ; 
but  probably  no  one  of  his  sayings  has  been  thus 
honored  more  frequently  than  this :  "  Tht  belief  the 
best  established  among  our  Americans  is  that  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul."^  The  treme  -'.ous  stake 
that  every  one  of  i-is  has  on  the  truth  o^  ^liis  dogma 
makes  it  quite  a  satisfaction  to  be  persuaded  that  no 
man  is  willing  to  live  wholly  without  it.  Certainly 
exceptions  are  very  rare,  and  most  of  those  which 
materialistic  philosophers  have  taken  such  pains  to 
collect,  rest  on  misunderstandings  or  superficial  ob- 
servation. 

In  the  new  world  I  know  of  only  one  well  au- 
thenticated instance  where  all  notion  of  a  future  state 
appears  to  have  been  entirely  wanting,  and  this  in 
quite  a  small   clan,  the  Lower  Pend  d'Oreillcs,  of 


^  Journal  Ilbtorlque^  p.  351:  Paris,  1710. 


pp 

%-.;_ 


250 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


Oregon.  This  people  had  nr  burial  ceremonies,  no 
notion  of  a  life  hereafter,  no  word  for  soul,  spiritual 
existence,  or  vital  principle.  They  thought  that  when 
they  died,  that  was  the  last  of  them.  The  Cath- 
olic missionaries  who  undertook  the  unpromising  task 
.  of  converting  them  to  Christianity,  were  at  first 
obliged  to  depend  upon  the  imperfect  translations  of 
half-breed  interpreters.  These  "  made  the  idea  of 
soul  intelligible  to  their  hearers  by  telling  them  they 
had  a  gut  which  never  rotted,  and  that  this  was  their 
living  principle !  "  Yet  even  they  were  not  desti- 
tute of  religious  notions.  No  tribe  was  more  addict- 
ed to  the  observance  of  charms,  omens,  dreams,  and 
guardian  spirits,  and  they  believed  that  illness  and 
bad  luck  generally  were  the  effects  of  the  anger  of  a 
fabulous  old  woman.^  The  aborigines  of  the  Cali- 
fornian  peninsula  were  as  near  beasts  as  men  ever 
become.  The  missionaries  likened  them  to  "  herds 
of  swine,  who  neither  worshipped  the  true  and  only 
God,  nor  adored  false  deities."  Yet  they  must  have 
had  some  vague  notion  of  an  after-world,  for  the 
writer  who  paints  the  darkest  picture  of  their  condi- 
tion remarks,  "  I  saw  them  frequently  putting  shoes 
on  the  feet  of  the  dead,  which  seems  to  indicate  that 
they  entertain  the  idea  of  a  journey  after  death."  ^ 


1  Rep.  of  the  Commissioner  of  Ind.  Affairs,  1854,  pp.  211,  212. 
The  old  woman  is  once  more  a  personification  of  the  water  and 
the  moon. 

■  Bsegert,  Ace.  of  the  Ahorig.  Tribes  of  the  Calif ornian  Penin- 
sula, translated  by  Chas.  Rau,  in  Ann.  Rep.  Smithson.  Inst., 
1886,  p.  387.  The  custom  recalls  the  Todtenschuhe  which  the 
ancient  Germans  placed  on  corpses  "  because  they  make  a  long 
journey."     See  Holtzmaan,  Deutsche  Mythologies  s.  205. 


I  ' 


THE  SOUL  AND  THE  SHADOW. 


251 


Proof  of  Charlevoix's  opinion  may  be  derived  from 
three  indep^  ndent  Fources.  The  aboriginal  lan- 
guages may  be  examined  for  terras  corresponding  to 
the  word  soul,  the  opinions  of  the  Indians  themselves 
may  be  quoted,  and  the  significance  of  sepulchral 
rites  as  indicative  of  a  belief  in  life  after  death  may 
be  determined. 

The  most  satisfactory  is  the  first  of  these.  JVe  call 
the  soul  a  ghost  or  spirit,  and  often  a  shade.  In 
these  words,  the  breath  and  the  shadow  are  the  sensu- 
ous perceptions  transferred  to  represent  the  imma- 
terial object  of  our  thought.  Why  the  former  was 
chosen,  I  have  already  explained  ;  and  for  the  latter, 
that  it  is  man's  intangible  image,  his  constant  com- 
panion, and  is  of  a  nature  akin  to  darkness,  earth, 
and  night,  are  sufliciently  obvious  reasons. 

These  same  tropes  recur  in  American  languages  in 
the  same  connection.  Tlie  Choctaw  belief  was  that 
each  man  has  an  outside  shadow,  shilombish,  and  an 
inside  shadow,  shilup.,  both  of  which  survive  his  de- 
cease. The  New  England  tribes  called  the  soul 
chemunff,  the  shadow,  and  in  Quiche  natub,  in  Eskimo 
tarnak^  express  both  these  ideas.  In  the  several 
Costa-Rican  dialects,  the  Brunka,  the  Bri-bri,  the 
Cabecar  and  the  Tiribi,  the  root  of  the  words  for 
ghost,  shadow,  spirit,  is  the  same.^  In  Mohawk 
atonritz  the  soul,  is  from  atonrion^  to  breathe,  and 
other  examples  to  the  same  purpose  have  already 
been  given.^ 

1  (iabb,  Ind.  Tribes,  and  Langs,  of  Costa  Rica,  p.  538. 

2  Of  the  Nicaraguans  Oviedo  says  :  "  Ce  n'est  pas  leur  coeur 
qui  va  en  haut,  mais  ce  qui  les  faisait  vivro  ;  c'est-h-dire,  le 
souffle  qui  leur  sort  par  la  bouclie,  et  que  I'ou  nomrae  Julio^* 


y'ist  {; 


*;  )l 


262 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY, 


Of  course  no  one  need  demand  that  a  strict  imma- 
teriality be  attaclied  to  these  words.  Such  a  color- 
less negative  abstraction  never  existed  for  them, 
neither  does  it  for  u.s,  though  we  delude  ourselves 
into  believing  that  it  does.  The  soul  was  to  them 
the  invisible  man,  material  as  ever,  but  lost  to  the 
appreciation  of  the  senses. 

Nor  let  any  one  be  astonished  if  its  unity  was 
doubted,  and  several  supposed  to  reside  in  one  body. 
This  is  nothing  more  than  a  somewhat  gross  form  of 
a  doctrine  upheld  by  most  creeds  and  most  philoso- 
phies. It  seems  the  readiest  solution  of  certiun  psy- 
chological enigmas,  and  may,  for  aught  we  know,  be 
an  instinct  of  fact.  The  Rabbis  taught  a  threefold 
division — nephesh,  the  animal,  ruah,  the  human,  and 
•neshamah,  the  divine  soul,  which  corresponds  to  that 
of  Plato  into  thumos,  epithumla^  and  nous.  And  even 
Saint  Paul  seems  to  have  recognized  such  inherent 
plurality  when  he  distinguishes  between  the  bodily 
soul,  the  intellectual  soul,  and  the  spiritual  gift,  in 
his  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  No  such  refinements  of 
course  as  these  are  to  be  expected  among  the  red 
men  ;  but  it  may  be  looked  upon  either  as  the  rudi- 
ments of  these  teachings,  or  as  a  gradual  debasement 
of  them  to  gross  a  id  material  expression,  that  an  old 
and  wide-spread  notion  was  found  among  both  Iro- 
quois and  Algonliins,  that  man  has  two  souls,  one  of 

(Ilist.  (lu  Nicarap'M^  p.  JV3).  The  word  should  be  yulla,  kin- 
dred with  ynli,  to  live.  (Buschraaun.  Uher  die  Azteklschtti 
Ortsnamen,  p.  765.)  In  the  Aztec  and  cognate  languages  we 
have  already  seen  that  eliecatl  means  both  wind^  soul,  and  shadoto 
(Biischmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.  in  Niirdlichcn  Mexico,  p. 
70. 


n 


THE  PLURALITY  OF  SOULS. 


2ca 


a  vegetative  character,  which  gives  bodily  life  and 
remains  with  the  corpse  after  death,  until  it  is  called 
to  enter  another  body ;  another  of  more  ethereal  text- 
ure, which  in  life  can  depart  from  the  body  in  sleep 
or  trance,  and  wander  over  the  world,  find  at  death 
goes  directly  to  the  land  of  Spirits.' 

The  Sioux  extended  it  to  Plato's  number,  and  are 
said  to  have  looked  forward  to  one  going  to  a  cold 
place,  another  to  a  warm  and  comfortable  country, 
while  the  third  was  to  watch  the  body.  Certainly  a 
most  impartial  distribution  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments.**  Some  other  Dakota  tribes  shared  their  views 
on  this  point,  but  more  commonly,  doubtless,  owing 
to  the  sacredness  of  the  number,  imagined /owr  souls, 
with  separate  destinies,  one  to  wander  about  the 
world,  one  to  watch  the  body,  the  third  to  hover 
around  the  village,  and  the  highest  to  go  to  the  spirit 
land.*  Even  this  number  is  multiplied  by  certain 
Oregon  tribes,  who  imagine  one  in  every  member ; 
and  by  the  Caribs  of  Martinique,  who,  wherever  they 
could  detect  a  pulsation,  located  a  spirit,  all  subor- 
dinate, however,  to  a  supreme  one  throned  in  the 
heart,  which  alone  would  be  transported  to  the 
skies  at  death.*  For  the  heart  that  so  constantly 
sympathizes  with  our  emotions  and  actions  is,  in 
most  languages  and  most  nations,  regarded  as  the 
seat  of  life ;  and  when  the  priests  of  bloody  religions 


1  Rel.  de  la  iVota'.  France,  An.  .1636,  p.  104  ;  "  Keating's  Nar- 
rative," i.  pp.  232,  410. 

2  French,  Hist.  Colls,  of  Louisiana,  iii.  p.  26. 
*Mrs.  Eastman,  Legends  of  the  Sioux,  p.  120. 

*  Toy.  d  la  Louisiane  fait  en  1720,  p.  155:  Paris,  1768. 


254 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


tore  out  the  heart  of  the  victim  and  offered  it  to  the 
idol,  it  was  an  emblem  of  the  life  that  was  thus  torn 
from  the  field  of  this  world  and  consecrated  to  the 
rulers  of  the  next.  In  many  of  the  native  tongues* 
the  compound  words  formed  with  its  name  indicate 
that  various  emotions  and  feelings  were  supposed  to 
arise  from  its  conditions.^ 

The  seat  of  the  soul  was  variously  located,  how- 
ever. The  Costa-llicans  place  to  this  day  the  pow- 
ers of  thought  and  memory  in  the  liver ; '  and  a 
Thlinkeet  legend,  quoted  by  Mr.  Bancroft,  who  com- 
ments on  its  obscurity,"  relates  that  the  first  of  all 
men  came  into  being  "  when  the  liver  came  out  from 
below,"  showing  that  this  tribe  also  regarded  that 
gland  as  the  seat  of  life.  Most  usually  the  head 
was  regarded  as  the  vital  member.  Roger  Williams 
rem.irks  of  the  New  England  Indians:  "In  the 
braine  their  opinion  is  that  the  soule  keeps  her  chiefe 
seate  and  residence."  *  By  an  easy  metonymy,  exempli- 
fied in  all  the  classical  languages,  the  head  represents 
the  man,  and  in  this  meaning  appears  in  the  picture 
writing,  in  the  usage  of  jDreserving  heads  and 
skulls,  and  in  the  custom  of  scalping  which  was 
encountered  by  the  early  explorers  in  both  North  and 
South  America. 

Various  motives  impel  the  living  to  treat  with 
jespect  the  body  from  which  life  has  departed. 
Lowest  of  them  is  a  superstitious  dread  of  death  and 


'  See  for  example  Matthews'  Hidatsa  Diet.  s.  v.  d'ati:  Baraga, 
Otchipwe  Diet.  a.  v.  Heart. 
2  Gabb,  lad.  Tribes  and  iMngs.  of  Costa  Riea,  p.  538. 
"  Native  Races  of  the  Pacijic  Slates,  vol.  iii,  p.  102. 
*  Kei/ into  the  Langs,  of  Am.,  "p.  77. 


THE  FEAR  OF  DEATH 


W(l 


the  dead.  The  stoicism  of  the  Indian,  ospocially  the 
nortliuni  tribes,  in  the  face  of  death,  has  often  l)een 
tlie  topic  of  poets,  and  has  often  been  interpreted  to 
bo  a  fearlessness  of  that  event.  Tliis  is  L.y  no  means 
true.  Savages  have  an  awful  horror  of  death  ;  it  is 
to  them  the  worst  of  ills  ;  and  for  this  very  reason 
was  it  that  they  thought  to  meet  it  without  flinching 
was  the  highest  i)roof  of  courage.  Everything  con- 
nected with  the  deceased  was,  in  many  tribes,  shun- 
ned with  superstitious  terror.  His  name  was  not 
mentioned,  his  property  left  untouched,  all  reference 
to  him  was  sedulously  avoided.  A  Tupi  tribe  used 
to  hurry  the  body  at  once  to  the  nearest  water,  and 
toss  it  in  :  the  Arkanzas  left  it  in  the  lodge  and  burn- 
ed over  it  the  dwelling  and  contents  ;  and  the  Algon- 
kins  carried  it  forth  by  a  hole  cut  opposite  the  door, 
and  beat  the  walls  with  sticks  to  fright  away  the 
lingering  ghost.  Burying  places  were  always 
avoided,  and  every  means  taken  to  prevent  the  de- 
parted spirits  exercising  a  malicious  influence  on 
those  remaining  behind. 

These  craven  fears  do  but  reveal  the  natural  re- 
pugnance of  the  animal  to  a  cessation  of  existence, 
and  arise  from  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  essen- 
tial to  organic  life.  Other  rites,  undertaken  avowed- 
ly for  the  behoof  of  the  soul,  prove  and  illustrate  a 
simple  but  unshaken  faith  in  itscontinu''d  existence 
after  the  decay  of  the  body. 

None  of  these  is  more  common  or  more  natural 
than  that  which  attributes  to  the  emancipated  spirit 
the  same  wants  that  it  felt  while  on  earth,  and  with 
loving  foresight  provide.^  for  their  satisfaction. 
Clothing  and  utensils  of  war  and  the  chase  were,  in 


SM 


77/ A'  SOU  I.  A  Mi  ITS  DKST/W. 


If 


ancient  times,  unifoiinly  placed  by  tlie  body,  under 
the  impression  that  they  would  be  of  service  to  the 
dvjparted  in  his  new  home.  Some  few  tribes  in  the 
far  west  still  retain  the  custom,  but  most  were 
Boon  ridiculed  into  its  neglect,  or  were  forced 
to  omit  it  by  the  violation  of  tombs  piactised  by 
depraved  whites  in  hope  of  gain.  To  these  harmless 
offerings  the  northern  tribes  often  added  a  dog  slain 
on  the  grave  ;  and  doubtless  the  skeletons  of  these 
animals  in  so  many  tombs  in  Mexico  and  Peru  point 
to  similar  customs  there.  It  had  no  deeper  meaning 
than  to  give  a  companion  to  the  spirit  in  its  long 
and  lonesome  journey  to  the  far  off  land  of  shades. 
The  peculiar  appropriateness  of  the  dog  arose  not 
only  from  the  guardianship  it  exerts  during  life,  but 
further  from  the  symbolic  signification  it  so  often 
had  as  representative  of  the  goddess  of  night  and  the 
grave. 

Where  a  despotic  form  of  government  reduced  the 
subject  almost  to  the  level  of  a  slave  and  elevated 
the  ruler  almost  to  that  of  a  superior  being,  not 
animals  only,  but  men,  women,  and  children  were 
frequently  immolated  at  the  tomb  of  the  cacique. 
The  territory  embraced  in  our  own  country  was  not 
without  examples  of  this  custom.  On  the  lower 
jMississippi,  the  Natchez  Indians  practised  it  in  all  its 
ghastliness.  When  a  sun  or  chief  died,  one  or  sev- 
eral of  his  wives  and  his  highest  officers  Avcre  knocked 
on  the  head  and  buried  with  him,  and  at  such  times 
the  barbarous  privilege  was  allowed  to  any  of  the 
lowest  caste  to  at  once  gain  admittance  to  the  highest 
by  the  murder  of  their  own  children  on  the  funeral 
pyre — a  privilege  which  respectable  writers  tell  us 


•' 


'>M 


THE  SOUL  UPON  ITS  JOURNEY. 


367 


human  beings  were  found  base  enough  to  take  ad- 
vantage of.^ 

Oviedo  relates  that  in  the  province  of  Guataro,  in 
Guatemala,  an  actual  rivalry  prevailed  among  the 
people  to  bo  slain  at  the  death  of  their  cacique,  for 
thoy  had  been  taught  that  only  such  as  went  with 
hiui  would  ever  find  their  way  to  the  paradise  of  the 
departed.'  Theirs  was  therefore  somewhatof  a  selfish 
motive,  and  only  in  certain  parts  of  Peru,  where  poly- 
gamy prevailed,  and  the  rule  was  that  only  one  wife 
was  to  be  sacrificed,  does  the  deportment  of  husbands 
seem  to  have  been  so  creditable  that  tluir  widows 
disputed  one  with  another  for  the  pleasure  of  being 
buried  alive  with  the  dead  body,  and  bearing  their 
spouse  company  to  the  other  world.'  Wives  who 
have  found  few  parallels  since  the  famous  matron  of 
Ephesus  I 

The  fire  built  nightly  on  the  grave  was  to  light  the 
spirit  on  its  journey.  By  a  coincidence  to  be  ex- 
plained by  the  universal  sacredness  of  the  number, 
both  Algonkins  and  Mexicans  maintained  it  iovfour 
nights  consecutively.  The  former  related  the  tradi- 
tion that  one  of  their  ancestors  returned  from  the 
spirit  land  and  informed  their  nation  that  the  journey 
thither  consumed  just /owr  days,  and  that  collecting 
fuel  every  night  added  much  to  the  toil  and  fatigue 
the  soul  encountered,  all  of  which  could  be  spared 


*  Diijiratz,  Hist,  of  Louisiana,   ii.    p.  '-ID*,    Dumont,  Mems. 
Jlist.  nur  la  Louisiane,  i.  chap.  26. 

2  ReL  (1e  la  Prov.  de  Cuchr.,  p.  140. 

''  Coreal,  Voiayes  aux  Indes  < »  .  *  ental  «,  ii.  '.  04:  Amsterdam, 
172->. 

17 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


,\S 


it  by  tho  relatives  kindling  nightly  a  fire  on  the  grave. 
Or  as  Longfellow  has  told  it : — 

"  Four  days  is  the  spirit's  journey 
To  the  land  of  ghosts  and  shadows, 
Four  its  lonely  night  encampments. 
Therefore  when  the  dead  are  buried, 
Let  a  fire  as  night  approaches 
.  (        Four  times  on  the  grave  be  kindled, 
That  the  soul  upoa  its  journey 
May  not  grope  about  in  darkness." 

The  same  length  of  time,  say  the  Navajos,  does  the 
departed  soul  wander  over  a  gloomy  marsh  ere  it  can 
discover  the  ladder  leading  to  the  Avorld  l/clow,  where 
are  the  homes  of  the  setting  and  the  rising  sun,  a 
land  of  luxuriant  plenty,  stocked  with  game  and 
covered  with  corn.  To  that  land,  say  they,  sink  all 
lost  seeds  and  germs  which  fall  on  the  earth  and  do 
not  sprout.  There  below  they  take  root,  bud,  and 
ripen  their  fruit. ^ 

After  four  days,  once  more,  in  the  superstitions  of 
the  Greenland  Eskimos,  does  the  soul,  for  that  term 
after  death  confined  in  the  bod}'',  at  last  break  from 
its  prison-house  and  either  rise  in  the  sky  to  dance 
in  the  aurora  borcalis  or  descend  into  the  pleasant 
land  beneath  the  earth,  according  to  the  manner  of 
dcath."^  Certain  of  the  Aztecs  taught  that  four  years 
elapsed  ere  the  wandering  ghost  reached  its  rest.^ 

That  there  are  logical  contradictions  in  this  belief 
and  these  ceremonies,  that  the  fire  is  always  in  the 
same  spot,  that  the  weapons  and   utensils   are  not 

1  Senate  Rep.  on  the  Ind.   Tribes,  p.  SHS  :  Wash.  1807. 

2  Egede,  Nachrlchtcn  von  Gronland,  p.  145 
^  Codex  Telleriano  liememis,  p.  191. 


t 


1 


THE  HEAVEN  OF  THE  RED  MAN. 


259 


s\ 


/■ears 

8 

)elief 
the 
not 


carried  away  by  the  departed,  and  that  tlie  food  placed 
for  his  sustenance  remains  untouched,  is  very  true. 
But  those  who  would  therefore  argue  that  they  were 
not  intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  soul,  and  seek 
some  more  recondite  meaning  in  them  as  "  uncon- 
scious emblems  of  struggling  faith  or  expressions  of 
inward  emotions,"  ^  are  led  astray  by  the  very  sim- 
plicity of  their  real  intention.  Where  is  the  faith, 
where  the  science,  that  does  not  involve  logical  con- 
tradictions just  as  gross  as  these  ?  They  are  tolerable 
to  us  merely  because  we  are  used  to  them.  What 
value  has  the  evidenceof  the  senses  anywhere  against 
a  religious  belief  ?  None  v/hatever.  A  stumbling 
block  though  this  be  to  the  materialist,  it  is  univer- 
sally true  and  must  be  accepted  as  an  experimental 
fact. 

The  preconceived  opinions  that  saw  in  the  meteoro- 
loGfical  myths  of  the  Indian  a  conflict  between  the 
Spirit  of  Good  and  the  Spirit  of  Evil,  have  with  like 
unconscious  error  falsified  his  doctrine  of  a  future 
life,  and  almost  without  an  exception  drawn  it  more 
or  less  in  the  likeness  of  the  Christian  heaven,  hell, 
and  purgatory.  Very  faint  traces  of  any  such  belief 
except  where  derived  from  the  missionaries  are  visible 
in  the  New  World.  Nowhere  was  any  well-deflfied 
doctrine  that  moral  turpitude  was  judged  and  punish- 
ed in  the  next  world.  No  contrast  is  discoverable 
between  a  place  of  torments  and  a  realm  of  joy ;  at 
the  worst  but  a  negative  castigation  awaited  tlie  liar, 
the  coward,  or  the  niggard.  Thu  typical  belief  of  the 
tribes  of  the  United  States  was  well  expressed  in  the 


^  Alger,  Hist,  of  the  D  c  trine  of  a  Fut'ne  Lij     p.  70. 


2G0 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


\) 


% 


f 


4T: 


reply  of  Esau  Hajo,  great  medal  chief  and  speaker 
for  the  Creek  nation  in  the  National  Council,  to  the 
question,  Do  the  red  people  believe  in  a  future  state 
of  rewards  and  punishments  ?  "  We  have  an  opinion 
that  tnose  who  have  behaved  well  are  taken  under 
the  care  of  Esaugetuh  Emissee,  and  assisted  ;  and 
that  thoso  who  have  behaved  ill  arc  left  to  shift  for 
themselves;  and  that  there  is  no  other  punishment."  ^ 
Neither  the  delights  of  a  heaven  on  the  one  hand, 
nor  the  terrors  of  a  hell  on  the  other,  were  ever  held 
out  by  priests  or  sages  as  an  incentive  to  well-doing 
or  a  warning  to  the  evil-disposed.  Different  fates, 
indeed,  awaited  the  departed  souls,  but  these  rarely, 
if  ever,  were  decided  by  their  conduct  while  in  the 
flesh,  but  by  the  manner  of  death,  the  punctuality 
with  which  certain  ocpulchral  rites  were  fulfilled 
by  relatives,  or  other  Biniilar  arbitrary  circumstance 
beyond  the  power  of  the  individual  to  control.  Tliis 
view,  whicli  I  am  well  aware  is  directly  at  variance 
with  that  of  all  previous  writers,  may  be  shown  to  bo 
that  natural  to  the  uncultivated  intellect  everywhere, 
and  the  real  int^pretation  of  the  creeds  of  America. 
Whether  these  arbitrary  circumstances  were  not  con- 
strued to  signify  the  decision  of  the  Divine  Mind  on 
thff  life  of  the  man,  is  a  deeper  question,  which  there 
is  no  means  at  hand  to  solve. 


1  Hawkins,  Sketch  of  the  Creek  Countr;/,  p.  80.  Of  the  Choc- 
taws  the  R3V.  Alfred  Wright  writes:  "  They  believe  that  the 
soulsarvivca  tlie  body,  but  they  do  not  appear  to  think  that  its 
condition  is  at  all  affected  by  the  conduct  in  thiplife."  Mission- 
ary Herald,  vol.  x.^iv.  p.  178.  sqq.  Abundant  evidence  could 
be  furnished  to  show  that  this  is  the  typical  doctrine  of  the  red 
race,  and  indeed  of  primitive  man  generally. 


THE  FATE  OF  THE  SOUL. 


261 


loc- 

the 

its 

inn- 

•ocl 


Those  who  have  complained  of  tlic  liopeless  confu- 
sion of  American  religions  have  but  proven  the 
insufficiency  of  their  o^rn  means  of  analyzing  them. 
The  uniformity  which  they  display  in  so  many  points 
is  nowhere  more  fully  illustrated  than  in  the  unani- 
mity with  which  they  all  point  to  the  sun  as  the  land 
01  the  happy  souls,  the  realm  of  the  iDlessed,  the 
scene  ol  the  joyous  hunting-grounds  of  the  hereafter. 
Its  perennial  glory,  its  comfortable  warmth,  its  daily 
analogy  to  the  life  of  man,  marked  its  abode  a3  the 
pleasantest  spot  in  the  universe.  It  matters  not 
whether  the  eastern  Algonkins  pointed  to  the  south, 
others  of  their  nation,  with  the  Iroquois  and  Creeks, 
to  the  west,  or  many  tribes  to  the  east,  as  the  direc- 
tion taken  by  the  spirit ;  all  these  myths  but  mean 
that  its  bourn  is  the  home  of  the  sun,  which  \.i  per- 
haps in  the  Orient  whence  ho  comes  forth,  in  the 
Occident  where  he  makes  his  bed,  or  in  the  South 
wdiither  he  retires  in  the  chilling  winter.  Where  the 
sun  lives,  they  informed  the  earliest  foreign  visitors, 
were  the  villages  of  the  deceased,  and  the  milky  way 
which  nightly  spans  the  arch  of  heaven  was  in  their 
opinion  the  road  that  led  thither,  and  was  called  the 
path  of  the  souls  (le  chemin  des  ames)}  To  hucyu  ku^ 
the  mansion  of  the  sun,  said  the  Caribs,  the  soul 
i^asses  when  death  overtakes  the  body.^  Toward  the 
warm  southwest,  to  the  great  manito,  who  sends  the 
mild  sunny  days,  the  corn  and  the  beans,  said  the 
New  England  natives  to  Roger  Williams,  Avill  all 
souls  go.^     Our  knowledge  is  scanty  of  the  doctrines 

1  Rcl  de  la  Noun.  France,  1001,  pp.  17,  13. 

2  Miiller,  vlmcr.  Urreligionen,  y>.   2*29. 
'  Kei/  into  the  Longs,  of  Am.,  p.  118. 


2G2 


TnE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


I 


.t'-j. 


^n 


III 


>  ^ 


■^iV. 


taught  by  the  Tncas  concerning  the  soul,  but  this 
much  we  do  know,  that  they  k)okcd  to  the  sun,  their 
recognized  lord  and  protector,  as  he  who  would  care 
at  death,  and  admit  them  to  his  palaces.  There — not, 
indeed,  exquisite  joys — but  a  life  of  unruffled  placid- 
ity, void  of  labor,  vacant  of  strong  emotions,  a  sort 
of  material  Nirvana,  aAvaited  them.^  For  these  rea- 
sons, they,  with  most  other  American  nations,  in- 
terred the  corpse  lying  east  and  west,  and  not  as  the 
traveller  Meyen  has  suggested,^  from  the  reminis- 
cences of  some  ancient  migration.  Beyond  the  Cor- 
dilleras, quite  to  the  coast  of  Brazil,  the  innumerable 
hordes  wlio  wandered  through  the  sombre  tropical 
forests  of  that  immense  territory  also  pointed  to  the 
west,  to  the  region  beyond  the  mountains,  as  the 
land  where  t'  3  souls  of  their  ancestors  lived  in  un- 
disturbed serenity  ;  or,  in  the  more  brilliant  imagina- 
tions of  the  later  generations,  in  a  state  of  perennial 
inebriety,  surrounded  by  infinite  casks  of  rum,  and 
with  no  white  man  to  dole  it  out  to  tiiem.^  The 
natives  of  the  extreme  south,  of  the  Pampas  and 
Patagonia  suppose  the  stars  are  the  souls  of  the  do- 
parted.  At  night  they  wander  about  the  sky,  but  the 
moment  the  sun  rises  they  hasten  to  the  cheerful 
light,  and  are  seen  no  more  until  it  disa^ipears  in  the 
west.  So  the  Eskimo  of  the  distant  north,  in  the 
long  winter  nights  when  the  aurora  bridges  tlie  sky 
Avith  its  changing  hues  and  arrowy  sliafts  of  light, 


^  J      .^fega,  nist.  des  Incas,  lib.  ii.  cap.  7. 
2  tieher  (lie  Ureinwnliner  von  Peru  p.  41. 

'^  Corcal,  V<)>i.  aux   Indes  Occ''ucnt.,i.  it.  221;  Miillcr,  ylwcr. 
XIrrelig.,  p.  289. 


THE  FATE  OP  THE  SOUL. 


2C8 


the 

lit, 


believes  he  sees  the  spirit.,  of  his  ancestors  clothed  iix 
celestial  raiment,  disporting  themselves  in  the  absence 
of  the  sun,  and  calls  the  phenomena  the  dance  of  the 
dead. 

The  home  of  the  sun  was  the  heaven  of  the  red 
manj  but  to  this  joyous  abode  not  everyone  without 
distinction,  no  miscellaneous  crowd,  could  gain  ad- 
mittance. The  conditions  were  as  various  as  the 
national  temperaments.  As  the  fierce  gods  of  the 
Northmen  would  admit  no  soul  to  the  banquets  of 
Walhalla  but  such  as  had  met  the  "  spear-death  "  in 
the  bloody  play  of  war,  and  shut  out  pitilessly  all 
those  who  feebly  breathed  their  last  in  the  "  straw 
death"  on  the  couch  of  sickness,  so  the  warlike  Aztec 
race  in  Nicaragua  held  that  the  shades  of  those  wlio 
died  in  their  beds  went  downward  aud  to  naught ;  but 
of  those  who  fell  in  battle  for  their  country  to  the 
east,  "to  the  place  whence  comes  the  suii."^  In  an- 
cient Mexico  not  only  the  warriors  who  were  thus 
sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  their  country,  but  with  a 
delicate  and  poetical  sense  of  justice  that  speaks  well 
for  the  refinement  of  the  race,  also  those  women  who 
perished  in  child-birth,  were  admitted  to  the  home  of 
the  sun.  For  are  not  they  also  heroines  in  the  battle 
of  life  ?  Are  they  not  also  its  victims  ?  And  do  they 
not  lay  down  their  lives  for  country  a^id  kindred? 
Every  morning,  it  was  imagined,  the  heroes  came 
forth  in  battle  array,  and  with  shout  and  song  and 
the  ring  of  weapons,  accompanied  the  sun  to  the  ze- 
nith, where  at  every  noon  the  souls  of  the  mothers, 
the  Cihuapipilti,  received  him  with  dances,  music, 


icr. 


'-  OviuJo,  II  si.  uii  ykxtrctf/ua,  p.  22. 


264 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY 


i/       ■! 


and  flowers,  and  bore  him  company  to  his  western 
couch.^  Except  these,  none — unless,  it  may  be,  the 
victims  sacrificed  to  the  gods,  and  this  is  doubtful — 
waj  deemed  worthy  of  the  highest  heaven. 

A  mild  and  un warlike  tribe  of  Guatemala,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  persuaded  that  to  die  by  any  other 
than  a  natural  death  was  to  forfeit  all  hope  of  life 
hereafter,  and  therefore  left  the  bodies  of  the  slain  to 
the  beasts  and  vultures.  • 

The  Mexicans  had  another  place  of  happiness  for 
departed  souls,  not  promising  perpetual  life  as  the 
homo  of  the  sun,  but  unalloyed  pleasure  for  a  certain 
term  of  years.  This  was  Tlalocan,  the  realm  of  the 
god  of  rains  and  waters,  the  terrestrial  paradise, 
whence  flowed  all  the  rivers  of  the  earth,  and  all  the 
nourishment  of  the  race.  The  diseases  of  which  per- 
sons died  marked  this  destination.  Such  as  were 
drowned,  or  struck  by  lightning,  or  succumbed  to 
humoral  complaints,  as  dropsies  and  leprosy,  were  by 
these  tokens  known  to  be  chosen  as  the  subjects  of 
Tlaloc.  To  such,  said  the  natives.,  "  death  is  the 
commencement  of  another  life,  it  is  as  Avaking  from 
a  dream,  and  the  soul  is  no  more  human  but  divine 
(feof)."  Therefore  they  addressed  their  dying  in 
terms  like  these :  "Sir,  or  lady,  a',Yake,  awake;  un- 
ready does  the  dawn  appear;  even  now  is  the  liglifc 
approaching;  already  do  the  birds  of  yellow  plum- 
age begin  their  songs  to  greet  thee  ;  already  are  the 
gavly-tinted  butterflies  flitting  around  thee."  ^ 


1  Torqueiuada,  Monavquia  Indiana,  lib.  vi.  cap.  27. 
*  Sjihaguu,  Hist,  de  la  Nucva  Espafia,  lib.  x.  cap.  29. 


mtm 


THE  RIVER  OF  DEATH. 


2C5 


icy   in 

liglib 

luiu- 

:e  tlie 


Before  proceeding  to  the  more  gloomy  portion  of 
the  subject,  to  the  destiny  of  those  souls  who  were 
not  chvosen  for  the  better  part,  I  must  advert  to  a 
curious  coincidence  in  the  religious  reveries  ofrmany 
nations  which  finds  its  explanation  in  the  belief  that 
the  house  of  the  sun  is  the  home  of  the  blessed,  and 
proves  that  this  was  the  first  conception  of  most 
natural  religions.  It  is  seen  in  the  events  and  ob- 
stacles of  the  journey  to  the  happy  land.  We  every- 
where hear  of  a  water  which  the  soul  must  cross, 
and  an  opponent,  either  a  dog  or  an  evil  spirit,  which 
it  has  to  contend  with.  We  are  all  familiar  with 
the  dog  Cerberus  (called  by  Homer  simply  "the 
dog  "),  which  disputed  the  passage  of  the  river  Styx, 
over  which  the  souls  must  cross  ;  and  with  the  cus- 
tom of  the  vikings,  to  be  buried  in  a  boat  so  that 
they  might  cross  the  waters  of  Ginunga-gap  to  the 
inviting  strands  of  Godheim.  Relics  of  this  belief 
are  found  in  the  Koran,  which  describes  the  bridge 
el  Sirat^  thin  as  a  hair  and  sharp  as  a  scimetar, 
stretched  in  a  single  span  from  heaven  to  eartli ;  in 
the  bridge  Bifrost,  which,  according  to  the  Edtla, 
stretches  from  earth  to  heaven  ;  in  the  Persian  le- 
gend, where  the  rainbow  arch  Chine vad  is  flung 
across  the  gloomy  depths  between  this  world  and 
the  home  of  the  happy ;  and  even  in  the  current 
Christian  allegory  which  represents  the  waters  of  the 
mythical  Jordan  rolling  between  us  and  the  Celes- 
tial City. 

How  strange  at  first  sight  does  it  seem  that  the 
Hurons  and  Iroquois  should  have  told  the  earliest 
missionaries  that  after  death  the  soul  must  cross  a 
deep  and  swift  river  on  a  bridge  formed  by  a  single 


III 


■%■  i 


1:1 


2G0 


THE  SOUL  AND  JTS  DESTINY. 


slender  tree  most  lightly  supported,  where  it  had  to 
defend  itself  against  the  attacks  of  a  dog  ?  ^  If  only 
they  had  expressed  this  belief,  it  might  have  passed 
for  a  coincidence  merely.  But  the  Athapascan  (Che- 
pewyans)  also  told  of  a  great  water,  which  the  soul 
must  cross  in  a  stone  canoe ;  the  Algonkins  and  Da- 
kota:?, of  a  stream  bridged  by  an  enormous  snake,  or 
a  narrow  and  precipitous  rock,  and  the  Araucanians 
of  Chili  of  a  sea  in  the  west,  in  crossing  which  the 
soul  was  re;iiiired  to  pay  toll  to  a  malicious  old  wo- 
man. Were  it  unluckily  impecunious,  she  deprived  it 
of  an  eye.^  With  the  Aztecs,  this  water  was  called 
Chicunoapa,  the  Nine  Rivers.  It  was  guarded  by  a 
dog  and  a  green  dragon,  to  conciliate  which  the  dead 
were  furnished  with  slips  of  paper  by  way  of  toll. 
The  Greenland  Eskimos  thought  that  the  Avatcrs 
roared  through  an  unfathomable  abyss  over  which 
there  was  no  other  bridge  than  awheel  slippery  Avilh 
ice,  forever  revolving  with  fearful  rapidity,  or  a  path 
narrow  as  a  cord  with  nothing  to  hold  on  by.  On 
the  otlier  side  sits  a  horrid  old  woman  gnashing  her 
teeth  and  tearing  her  hair  with  rage.  As  each  soul 
approaches  she  burns  a  feather  under  its  nose ;  if  it 
faints  she  seizes  it  for  her  prisoner,  but  if  the  soul's 
guardian  spirit  can  overcome  her,  it  passes  througli 
in  i^n.fety.^ 

1  Jiel  tie  Ijl  Nouv.  France,  lOJO,  p.  10-5.  Tho  Algoukiu  Otta- 
was  had  tliis  form  of  the  legend  (Xiu  Perrot,  J/cm.  .s-w  VAmcri- 
que,  Sept.(lGGo),  p.  41).  The  Otchipvve  iiaiiui  for  the  bridge  id 
Kokokajogan.     Owl  Bridofo  (Baragu, O^ 'Ai'/Kce  i)(r7.  §.  v-l 

2  Molina,  Hist,  of  Chiii,  H,  p,  \\\,  iiinl  otll.i  (  hi  iVallz,  .lj|i 
thrapolot)  P,  HI.  p.  iU7. 

3  A\ichi'ickten  von  G'ronlnnd  aits  dem  Tai/ebuche  torn  lUsvhof 
Paul  Eycdet  ^.  101;  Koj)oniiagcn,  1790.  '   '        *' 


,i 


ad  to 
■  only 
assed 
(Che- 

5    soul 

a  Da- 

ke,  or 

iiiiaiis 

ill  tlie 

Id  wo- 

ived  it 
called 

d  by  a 

lo  dead 

3f  toll. 

waters 
win  ell 
y  with 
a  path 
On 
nsc  her 
h  soul 
;  if  it 
soul's 
lu'ough 

iu  Otta- 

t  Anicri- 
Iridge  id 

Bischof 


THE  RIVER  OF  DEATH. 


2G7 


The  similarity  to  the  passage  of  the  soul  across  the 
Styx,  and  the  toll  of  the  obolus  to  Charon  is  iu  the 
Aztec  legend  still  more  striking,  when  we  remember 
that  the  Styx  was  the  ninth  head  of  Oceanus  (omitting 
the  Cocytus,  often  a  branch  of  the  Styx).  The 
Nine  Rivers  probably  refer  to  the  nine  Lords  of  the 
Night,  ancient  Aztec  deities  guarding  the  nocturnal 
liours,  and  introduced  into  their  calendar.  The  Tupi8 
and  Caribs,  the  Mayas  and  Creeks,  entertained  very 
similar  expectations,- 

AVe  arc  to  seek  the  explanation  of  these  wide- 
spread theories  of  the  soul's  journey  in  the  equally 
prevalent  tenet  tkat  the  sun  is  its  destination,  and 
that  that  luminary  has  his  abode  beyond  the  ocean 
stream,  which  in  all  primitive  geographies  rolls  its 
waves  around  the  habitable  land.  This  ocean  stream 
is  the  water  which  all  have  to  attempt  to  pass,  and 
woo  to  him  whom  the  spirit  of  the  waters,  represented 
either  as  the  old  woman,  the  dragon,  or  the  dog  of 
Hecate,  seizes  and  overcomes.  In  the  lush  fancy  of 
the  Orient,  the  spirit  of  the  waters  becomes  the 
spirit  of  evil,  the  ocean  stream  the  abyss  of  hell,  and 
those  who  fail  in  the  passage  the  damned,  who  are 
foredoomed  to  evil  deeds  and  endless  torture. 

No  such  ethical  bearing  as  this  was  ever  assigned 
the  myth  by  the  red  race  before  they  were  taught  by 
|il||t'«»|itnMlMt  FatluT  Brcbeuf  could  unly  iliul  that  the 
BlUtls  of  Hlllchles  and  (hose  klllrd  In  amU'  Wi'lu  Hllp- 
posed  to  live  apart  fioni  the  others  ;  "  l)ut  as  to  the 
Bouls  of  suulUuli'i'ls,"  ]\n  ndds,  ^'su  fur  from  l)eiiig 
shut  out,  Ihey  lil'U  I  lie  mcIihuuh  mieslK,  ihougli  for 
thui  nuiittir  if  It  were  not  bo,  tlu'ir  paradise  wouhl 
lio  a  total  desert,  as  Huron  uud  scoundrel  (^Jluroa 


208 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


et  larron)  are  one  and  the  same."  '  When  the  Min- 
netarees  told  Major  Long  and  the  Mannicicas  of  the 
La  J*lata  the  Jesuits,''  that  the  souls  of  the  bud  fell 
into  the  waters  and  were  swept  away,  this  was, 
heyond  doubt,  attributable  either  to  a  false  interpre- 
tation, or  to  Christian  instruction.  No  such  distinc- 
tion is  probable  among  savages.  The  Brazilian  na- 
tives divided  the  dead  into  classes,  supposing  that 
the  drowned,  those  killed  by  violence,  and  those 
yielding  to  disease,  lived  in  separate  regions ;  but 
no  ethical  reason  whatever  seems  to  have  been  con- 
nected with  this.^  If  the  conception  of  a  jjlace  of 
moral  retribution  was  known  at  all  to  the  race,  it 
should  be  found  easily  recognizable  in  Mexico,  Yuca- 
tan, or  Peru.  But  the  so-called  '"■  hells "'  of  their 
religions  have  no  such  significance,  and  the  S2)irits 
of  evil,  who  were  identified  by  early  writers  with 
Satan,  no  more  deserve  the  name  than  does  the  Greek 
Pluto. 

Cupay  or  Supay,  the  Shadow,  in  Peru  was  sup- 
posed to  rule  the  land  of  shades  in  the  centre  of  the 
earth.  To  him  went  all  souls  not  destined  to  be  the 
companions  of  the  Sun.  This  is  all  we  know  of  his 
attributes ;  and  the  assertion  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega, 
that  he  was  the  analogue  of  the  Christian  Devil,  and 
that  his  name  was  never  pronounced  without  spitting 
and  muttering  a  curse  on  his  head,  may  be  invali- 


1  Rel.  de  In  Nouv.  France,  163G,  p.  105. 

2  Lonsf's  Expedition,  i.  p.  280;  Waitz,  Anthropnlogie,  iii.  p. 
501.  l)r.  ]\latthevvs  found  no  such  moral  distinction  believed 
in  by  the  Minuetarees  of  the  present  day.  (Uidaisa  Grammar, 
p.  xxiii.) 

3  Miiller,  Aiiur.  Urrdiyioneu,  p.  287. 


I  Min- 
)f  the 
d  fell 
wns, 
;erpro- 
istinc- 
an  na- 
g  that 
those 
s  J  but 
!ii  con- 
lace  of 
race,  it 
,  Yuca- 
ff  their 
spirits 
s  with 
Greek 

IS  sup- 

of  the 

be  the 

of  his 

Vega, 

dl,  and 

[pitting 

invali- 


>,  111.  p. 
Ibelieved 
\rammar, 


CUPAY  AND  XIDALBA. 


269 


dated  by  the  testimony  of  an  earlier  and  better  au- 
thority on  the  religion  of  Peru,  who  calls  himtlie  god 
of  rains,  and  adds  that  the  famous  Inca,  lluayna 
Capac,  was  his  high  priest.^ 

"  The  devil,"  says  CogoUudo  of  the  Mayas,  "  is 
called  by  them  Xibilha,  which  means  he  who  disap- 
pears or  vanishes."  ^  In  the  legends  of  the  Quich6s, 
the  name  Xibalba  is  given  as  that  of  the  under-world 
ruled  by  the  grim  lords  One  Death  and  Seven  Deaths, 
The  derivation  of  the  name  is  from  a  root  meaning  to 
fear,  from  which  comes  the  term  in  Maya  dialects 
for  a  ghost  or  phantom.^  Under  the  influence  of  a 
century  of  Christian  catechizing,  the  Quich6  legends 
portray  this  really  as  a  place  of  torment,  and  its 
rulers  as  malignant  and  powerful ;  but  as  I  have 
before  pointed  out,  they  do  so  protesting  that  such 
•^7as  not  the  ancient  belief,  and  they  let  fall  no  word 
that  shows  that  it  was  regarded  as  the  destination  of 
the  morally  bad.  The  original  meaning  of  the  name 
given  by  CogoUudo  points  unmistakably  to  the  sim- 
ple fact  of  disappearance  from  among  men,  and  cor- 
responds in  harmlessness  to  the  true  sense  of  those 

1  Compare  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  Ilist.  des  Incna.,  liv.  ii.  chap. 
ii.,with  Lett.  8ur  les  Superstitions  du  PSrou,  p.  104.  Cupay  is 
undoubtedly  a  personal  form  from  Cupan,  a  shadow.  (See  Hol- 
guin,  Vocdb.  de  la  Lengua  Quichua,  p.  80 :  Cuzco,  1608.) 

2  "El  que  desparece  6  desvanece,"  IIist.de  Yucathan,  lib.  iv. 
cap.  7. 

^  Ximenes,  Vncah.  Quiche,  p.  224.  The  attempt  of  the  Abb6 
Brasseur  to  make  of  Xibalba  an  ancient  kingdom  of  renown  \^'ith 
Palenque  as  its  capital,  is  so  utterly  unsupported  and  wildly 
hypothetical  as  to  justify  the  humorous  flings  which  have  so 
often  been  cast  at  antiquaries. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


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150 


?^  M^   12.2 


IL25  i  1.4 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  I4S80 

(716)  87il-4503 


'o"  ^  "4^U 


^^^%.   ^^ 


/^^ 

^4^ 


270 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


words  of  fear,  Scheol,  Hades,  Hell,  all  signifying  hid- 
den from  sight,  and  only  endowed  with  more  grim 
associations  by  the  imaginations  of  later  generations.* 

Mictianteuctli,  Lord  of  Mictlan,  from  a  word  mean- 
ing to  die  (^mic  death,  tlan  near),  was  the  Mexican 
Pluto.  Like  Cupay,  he  dwelt  in  the  subterranean 
regions,  and  his  palace  was  named  Tlalxicco,  the 
navel  of  the  earth.  Yet  he  was  also  located  in  the 
far  north,  and  that  point  of  the  compass  and  the 
north  wind  were  named  after  him.  Those  who 
descended  to  him  were  oppressed  by  the  darkness  of 
his  abode,  but  were  subjected  to  no  other  trials ;  nor 
were  they  sent  thither  as  a  punishment,  but  merely 
from  having  died  of  diseases  ur.fitting  them  for 
Tlalocan.  Mictianteuctli  was  said  to  be  the  most 
powerful  of  the  gods.  For  who  is  stronger  than 
Death  ?  And  who  dare  defy  the  Grave  ?  As  the  skald 
lets  Odin  say  to  Bragi :  "  Our  lot  is  uncertain ;  even 
on  the  hosts  of  the  gods  gazes  the  gray  Fenris  wolf." " 

These  various  abodes  to  which  the  incorporeal  man 
took  flight  were  not  always  his  everlasting  home. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  where  a  plui'ality  of  souls 
was  believed,  one  of  these,  soon  after  death,  entered 
another  body  to  recommence  life  on  earth.  Acting 
under  this  persuasion,  the  Algonkin  women  who  de- 
sired to  become  mothers,  flocked  to  the  couch  of  those 
about  to  die,  in  hope  that  the  vital  principle,  as  it 
passed  from  the  body,  would  enter  theirs,  and  ferti- 

*  Scheol  is  from  a  Hebrew  \vord,  signifying  to  dig,  to  hide  in 
the  earth.  Hades  signifies  the  unseen  or  unseeing  world.  Heil 
Jacob  Grimm  derives  from  Mian,  to  conceal  in  the  earth ;  it  ia 
cognate  with  hole  and  hollow. 

2  Pennock,  Beligwn  of  the  Northmen,  p.  148. 


METEMPS  YCHOSIS. 


271 


ag  hid- 
B  grim 
atioris.* 
L  mean- 
Lexican 
•ranean 
BO,  the 
in  the 
tnd  the 
\Q  who 
mess  of 
Is ;  nor 
merely 
lem  for 
le  most 
er  than 
le  skald 
even 
wolf." " 
al  man 
home, 
f  souls 
ntered 
|Acting 
ho  de- 
those 
as  it 
ferti- 

hide  in 

HeU 

th ;  it  ia 


lize  their  sterile  wombs  :  and  when,  among  the  Semi- 
noles  of  Florida,  a  mother  died  in  childbirth,  the 
infant  was  held  over  her  face  to  receive  her  parting 
spirit,  and  thus  acquire  strength  and  knowledge  for 
its  future  use.*  So  among  the  Takahlis,  the  priest 
is  accustomed  to  lay  his  hand  on  the  head  of  the 
nearest  relative  of  the  deceased,  and  to  blow  into  him 
the  soul  of  the  departed,  which  is  supposed  to  come 
to  life  in  his  next  child."  Probably,  with  a  reference 
to  the  current  tradition  that  ascribes  the  origin  of 
man  to  the  earth,  and  likens  his  life  to  that  of  the 
plant,  the  Mexicans  were  accustomed  to  say  that  at 
one  time  all  men  have  been  stones,  and  that  at  last 
they  would  all  return  to  stones,'  and,  acting  literally 
on  this  conviction,  they  interred  with  the  bones  of 
the  dead  a  small  green  stone,  which  was  called  the 
principle  of  life. 

Whether  any  nations  accepted  the  doctrine  of 
metempsychosis,  and  thought  that  "  the  souls  of 
their  grandams  might  haply  inhabit  a  partridge,"  we 
are  without  the  means  of  knowing.  La  Hontan  denies 
it  positively  of  the  Algonkins ;  but  the  natives 
of  Popoyan  refused  to  kill  dovei,,  says  Cpreal,* 
because  they  believed  them  inspired  by  the  souls 
ot  the  departed.  And  Father  Ignatius  Chom<^  re- 
lates that  he  heard  a  woman  of  the  Chiriquanes  in 
Buenos  Ayres  say  of  a  fox :  "  May  that  not  be  the 


1  La  Hontan,  Voy^  dans  VAm.  Sept.  i..  p.  232  ;  Nairative  of 
Oceola  NikkanocTie,  p.  75. 

2  Morse,  Rep.  on  the  Ind.  Tribes,  App.  p.  845. 

^  Garcia,  Or.  de  los  Jndios,  lib.  iv.  cap.  26,  p.  310. 
■*  Voiages  aux  Indes  Oc,  ii.  p.  132. 


.1,7 


272 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY 


spirit  of  my  dead  daughter  ?  "  *  But  before  accept- 
ing such  testimony  as  decisive,  we  must  first  enquire 
whether  these  tribes  believed  in  a  multiplicity  of 
souls,  whether  these  animals  had  a  symbolical  value, 
and  if  not,  whether  the  soul  was  not  simply  presumed 
to  put  on  this  shape  in  its  journey  to  the  land  of  the 
hereafter :  inquiries  which  are  unanswered.  Leaving, 
therefore,  the  question  open,  whether  the  sage  of 
Samos  had  any  disciples  in  the  new  world,  another 
and  more  fruitful  topic  is  presented  by  their  well- 
ascertained  notions  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
This  seemingly  extraordinary  doctrine,  which  some 
have  asserted  was  entirely  unknown  and  impossi- 
ble to  the  American  Indians,**  was  in  fact  one  of 
their  most  deeply-rooted  and  wide-spread  convic- 
tions, especially  among  the  tribes  of  the  eastern 
United  States.  It  is  indissolubly  connected  with 
their  highest  theories  of  a  future  life,  their  burial 
ceremonies,  and  their  modes  of  expression.  The  Mo- 
ravian Brethren  give  the  grounds  of  this  belief 
with  great  clearness:  "That  they  hold  the  soul  to 
be  immortal,  and  perhaps  think  the  body  will  rise 
again,  they  give  not  unclearly  to  understand  when 
they  say,  '  "We  Indians  shall  not  forever  die  ;  even 
the  grains  of  corn  we  put  under  the  earth  grow  up 
and  become  living  things.'  They  conceive  that  when 
the  soul  has  been  a  while  with  God,  it  can,  if  it 
chooses,  return  to  earth  and  be  born  again." '  This 
is  the  highest  and  typical  creed  of  the  aborigines.  But 


1  Lettres  EJif.  et  Cur.,   v.  p.  203. 

2  Alger,  Hist,  of  the  Doctrine  of  a  Future  Life,  p.  72. 
8  Loskiel,  Ges.  der  Miss,  derevang.  Briider,  p.  49. 


•  I 


^mJii 


■Ufa 


mm 


accept- 
jnquire 
city  of 
L  value, 
Bsumed 
L  01  the 
eaving, 
sage  of 
another 
lir  well- 
le  dead, 
oh  some 
impossi- 
one  of 
convic- 
eastern 
id  with 
r  burial 
rhe  Mo- 
belief 
soul  to 
ill  rise 
Id  when 
even 
frow  up 
^t  when 
m,  ij  it 
«  This 
3S.  But 


72. 


THE  PRESERVATION  OF  BONES. 


273 


instead  of  simply  being  born  again  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  the  word,  they  thought  the  soul  would  re- 
turn to  the  bones,  that  these  would  clothe  themselves 
with  flesh,  and  that  the  man  would  rejoin  his  tribe. 
That  this  was  the  real,  though  often  doubtless  the 
dimly  understood  reason  of  the  custom  of  preserving 
the  bones  of  the  deceased,  can  be  shown  by  various 
arj^uments. 

This  practice  was  almost  universal.  East  of  the 
Mississippi  nearly  every  nation  was  accustomed,  at 
stated  periods — usually  once  in  eight  or  ten  years — 
to  collect  and  clean  the  osseous  remains  of  those  of 
its  number  who  had  died  in  the  intervening  time, 
and  inter  them  in  one  common  sepulchre,  lined  with 
choice  furs,  and  marked  with  a  mound  of  wood,  stone, 
and  earth.  Such  is  tht,  origin  of  those  immense 
tumuli  filled  with  the  mortal  remains  of  nations  and 
generations  which  the  antiquary,  with  irreverent 
curiosity,  so  frequently  chances  upon  in  all  portions 
of  our  territory.  Throughout  Central  America  the 
same  usage  obtained  in  various  localities,  as  early 
writers  and  existing  monuments  abundantly  testify. 
Instead  of  interring  the  bones,  were  they  those  of 
some  distinguished  chieftain,  they  were  deposited  in 
the  temples  or  the  council-houses,  usually  in  small 
chests  of  canes  or  splints.  Such  were  the  charnel- 
houses  which  the  historians  of  De  Soto's  expedition 
so  often  mention,  and  these  are  tl.o  •'  arks  "  which 
Adair  and  other  authors,  who  have  sought  to  trace  the 
descent  of  the  Indians  from  the  Jews,  have  likened 
to  that  which  the  ancient  Israelites  bore  Avith  them 
on  their  migrations.     A  widow  among  the  Tahkalis 

was  obliged  to  carry  the  bones  of  her  deceased  hus- 

18 


274 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


band  wherever  she  went  for  four  years,  preserving 
them  in  such  a  casket  handsomely  decorated  with 
feathers.'  The  Caribs  of  the  mainland  adopted  the 
custom  for  all  without  exception.  About  a  year 
after  death  the  bones  were  cleaned,  bleached,  painted, 
wrapped  in  odorous  balsams,  placed  in  a  wicker 
basket,  and  kept  suspended  from  the  door  of  their 
dwellings.''  When  the  quantity  of  these  heirlooms 
became  burdensome,  they  were  removed  to  some  in- 
accessible cave  n,  and  stowed  away  with  reverential 
care.  Such  was  the  cave  Ataruipe,  a  visit  to  which 
has  been  so  eloquently  described  by  Alexander  von 
Humboldt  in  his  "  Views  of  Nature." 

So  great  was  the  resp^ict  for  these  remains  by  the 
Indians,  that  on  the  Mississippi,  in  Peru,  and  else- 
where, no  tyranny,  no  cruelty,  so  embittered  the 
indigenes  against  the  white  explorers  as  the  sacrile- 
gious searclv  for  treasures  perpetrated  among  the 
sepulchres  of  past  generations.  Unable  to  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  such  deep  feeling,  so  foreign  to 
the  European  who,  without  a  second  thought,  turns 
a  cemetery  into  a  public  square,  or  seeds  it  down  in 
wheat,  the  Jesuit  missionaries  in  Paraguay  accuse 
the  natives  of  worshipping  the  skeletons  of  their 
forefathers,"  and  the  English  in  Virginia  repeated  it 
of  the  Powhatans. 

I  may  here  si:\y  a  few  words  of  ancestral  worship 
in  general.  In  origin,  it  is  a  branch  of  the  religion 
of  sex,  for  only  when  the  ties  of  relationship  are 


1  Richardson,  Arctic  Expedition,  p.  260. 

2  Gumilla,  Hist,  del  Orinoco,  i.  pp.  199, 202,  204. 

3  Ruis,  Conquista  Espiritual  del  Paraguay,  p.  48,  in  Lafitau. 


erving 
L  with 
ed  the 
I  year 
linted, 
wicker 
f  their 
rlooms 
)me  in- 
jrential 
which 
er  von 

by  the 
d  else- 
red  the 
sacrile- 
ng  the 
under- 
eign  to 
turns 
wn  in 
I  accuse 
their 
ited  it 

[^orship 
3ligion 
ip  are 


Ifitau. 


ANCESTRAL  WORSHIP. 


275 


somewhat  strongly  felt,  can  it  arise.  In  America  it 
existed,  but  was  not  prominent.  The  Knisteneaiix 
on  Nelson  river  were  accustomed  to  strangle  their 
parents  when  old ;  yet  each  master  of  a  family,  the 
deed  performed,  kept  by  him  a  bunch  of  feathers 
tied  with  a  string,  called  it  his  "father's  head,"  and 
looked  upon  it  with  most  superstitious  reverence.^ 
The  Aztecs  celebrated  a  feast  to  the  dead  once  in 
each  year,  at  which  time  they  gazed  to  the  north  and 
called  upon  their  ancestors  to  "come  soon,  for  we 
await  you."  ^  TlieTupis  worshipped  Tamoin  and  the 
Incas  Pacarina,  names  Avhich  represented  "  the  fore- 
father of  the  clan  idealized  as  the  soul  or  essence  of 
his  descendants." '  And  this  somewhat  subtle  ex- 
planation of  an  able  writer,  recondite  as  it  may  seem 
for  a  savage  mind,  was  the  prevailing  form  of  ances- 
tral worship  in  the  New  World. 

The  question  has  been  debated  and  variously  an- 
swered, whethor  the  art  of  mummification  was  known 
and  practised  in  America.  Without  entering  into 
the  discussion,  it  is  certain  that  preservation  of  the 
corpse  by  a  long  and  thorough  process  of  exsiccation 
over  a  slow  fire  was  nothing  unusual,  not  only  in 
Peru,  Popoyan,  the  Carib  countries,  and  Nicaragua, 


1  J.  Robson,  Ac.  of  Res.  in  Hudson's  Bay^  p.  48. 

2  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  p.  192. 

3  Clements  R.  Markliam,  Jour.  Roy.  Geog.  Soc,  1871,  p.  201. 
Compare  Ives  d'Evreux,  Hist,  de  Maragnan^  pp.  91,  92.  When 
Markham  adds  that  the  actual  body  of  the  ancestor  was  wor- 
shipped undL^r  the  name  malqai,  I  believe  he  is  in  error.  This 
is  not  a  true  Quichua  word,  as  M.  Leonce  Angrand  points  out 
in  a  note  to  Desjardins,  Ancien  PSroti.  It  is  not  in  Ilolguiu's 
Diccionario.    lu  modern  Quichua  it  means  simply  mummy. 


IIT 


270 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


but  among  m.any  of  the  tribes  north  of  the  Gulf  of 
jNIcxico,  as  I  have  elsewhere  shovvn.^  The  object 
was  essentially  the  same  as  when  the  bones  alone 
were  preserved  ;  and  in  the  case  of  rulers,  the  same 
respect  was  often  paid  to  their  corpses  as  had  been 
the  due  of  their  living  bodies. 

The  opinion  underlying  all  these  customs  was,  that 
a  part  of  the  soul,  or  one  of  the  souls,  dwelt  in  the 
bones ;  that  these  were  the  seeds  which,  planted  in 
the  earth,  or  preserved  unbroken  in  safe  places,  would, 
in  time,  put  on  once  again  a  garb  of  flesh,  and  ger- 
minate into  living  human  beings.  Language  illus- 
trates this  not  unusual  theory.  The  Iroquois  word 
for  bone  is  esken — for  soul,  atisken.,  literally  that 
which  is  within  the  bone.''  In  an  Athapascan  dia- 
lect bone  13  ?/aw«,  soul  i-yune.^  The  Hebrew  Rabbis 
taught  that  in  the  bone  lutz.,  the  coccyx,  remained  at 
death  the  germ  of  a  second  life,  which,  at  the  proper 
time,  would  develop  into  tlie  purified  body,  as  the 
plant  from  the  seed. 

But  mythology  and  superstitions  add  more  decisive 
testimony.  One  of  the  Aztec  legends  of  the  origin  of 
man  was,  that  after  one  of  the  destructions  of  the 
world  the  gods  took  counsel  together  how  to  renew 
the  species.  It  was  decided  that  one  of  their  num- 
ber, Xolotl,  should  descend  to  Mictlan,  the  realm  of 
the  dead,  and  bring  thence  a  bone  of  the  perished 
race.  The  fragments  of  this  they  sprinkled  with 
blood,  and  on  the  fourth  da,-v  it  grew  into  a  youth, 


^  Notes  on  the  Floridian  Peninsula,  pp.  191  sqq. 

-  Bruyas,  Had.  Verhorum  IroquKorum. 

^  Buschmann,  Atliapask.  Spraclistamm,  pp.  182,  188. 


mm 


■hMM 


mimmt 


TEE  SOUL  IN  THE  BOXES. 


m 


Gulf  of 
3  object 
}S  alone 
he  same 
lad  been 

vas,  that 
It  in  the 
mted  in 
3,  would, 
and  ger- 
,ge  illus- 
ois  word 
illy  that 
scan  dia- 
w  Rabbis 
lained  at 
lie  proper 
|y,  as  the 

decisive 
origin  of 
IS  of  the 
bo  renew 
^eir  niim- 
realm  of 
perished 
tied  with 
la  youth, 


the  father  of  the  present  race.*  The  profound  mys- 
tical significance  of  this  legend  is  reflected  in  one  told 
by  the  Quich(;s,  in  which  the  hero  gods  Ilunahpu 
ond  Xblanque  succumb  to  the  rulers  of  Xibalba, 
the  darksome  powers  of  death.  Their  bodies  are 
burned,  but  their  bones  are  ground  in  a  mill  and 
thrown  into  the  waters,  lest  they  should  come  to  life. 
Even  this  precaution  is  insufficient — "  for  these  ashea 
did  not  go  far ;  they  sank  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream, 
where,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  they  were  changed 
into  handsome  youths,  and  their  very  same  features 
appeared  anew.  On  the  fifth  day  they  displayed  them- 
selves anew,  and  were  seen  in  the  water  by  the 
people,"  ^  whence  they  emerged  to  overcome  and  de- 
stroy the  powers  of  death  and  hell  (Xibalba). 

The  strongest  analogies  to  these  myths  are  offered 
by  the  superstitious  rites  of  distant  tribes.  Some  of 
the  Tupis  of  Brazil  were  wont  on  the  death  of  a 
relative  to  dry  and  pulverize  his  bones  and  then  mix 
them  with  their  food,  a  nauseous  practice  they  de- 
fended by  asserting  that  the  soul  of  the  dead  remained 
in  the  bones  and  lived  again  in  the  living.^  Even  the 
lower  animals  were  supposed  to  follow  the  same  law. 
Hardly  any  of  the  hunting  tribes,  before  their  original 
manners  were  vitiated  by  foreign  influence,  permitted 
the  bones  of  game  slain  in  the  chase  to  be  broken,  or 
left  carelessly  about  the  encampment.  They  were 
collected  in  heaps,  or  thrown  into  the  water.  ]Mrs. 
Eastman  observes  that  even  yet  the  Dakotas  deem  it 


1S8. 


^  Torquemada,  Monarquia  Indiana,  lib.  vi.  cap.  41. 
^  Le  Licre  Sacr/ des  Quiches,  pp.  175-177. 
'  Miiller,  AmSr.  Urrelig.,  p.  290,  after  Spix. 


278 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


an  omen  of  ill  luck  in  the  hunt,  if  the  dogs  gnaw  the 
bones  or  a  woman  inadvertently  steps  over  them  ;  and 
the  Chipeway  interpreter,  John  Tanner,  speaks  of  the 
same  fear  among  that  tribe.  The  Yurucares  of  Bo- 
livia carried  it  to  such  an  inconvenient  extent  that 
they  carefully  put  by  even  small  fish  bones,  saying 
that  unless  this  is  done  the  fish  and  game  will  dis- 
appear from  the  country.^  The  traveller  on  our  west- 
ern prairies  often  notices  the  buffalo  skulls,  count- 
less numbers  of  which  bleach  on  those  vast  plains, 
arranged  in  circles  and  symmetrical  piles  by  the  care- 
ful hands  of  the  native  hunters.  The  explanation  they 
offer  for  this  custom  gives  the  key  to  the  whole  theory 
and  practice  of  preserving  the  osseous  relics  of  the 
dead,  as  well  human  as  brute.  They  say  that,  "  the 
bones  contain  the  spirits  of  the  slain  animals,  and  that 
some  time  in  the  future  they  will  rise  from  the  earth, 
re-clothe  themselves  with  Hesh,  and  stock  the  prairiea 
anew."  ^  This  explanation,  which  comes  to  us  from 
indisputable  authority,  sets  forth  in  its  true  light  the 
belief  of  the  red  race  in  a  resurrection.  It  is  not 
possible  to  trace  it  out  in  the  subtleties  with  which 
theologians  have  surrounded  it  as  a  dogma.  The  very 
attempt  would  be  absurd.  They  never  occurred  to 
the  Indian.  He  thought  that  the  soul  now  enjoying 
the  delights  of  the  happy  hunting  grounds  would 
some  time  return  to  the  bones,  take  on  flesh,  and  live 
again.  Such  is  precisely  the  much  discussed  state- 
ment that  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  says  he  often  heard 
from  the  native  Peruvians.    He  adds  that  so  careful 

1  D'Orbigny,  Annuaire  ties  Voyages,  1845,  p.77. 

2  Long's  Expedition,  i.  p.  278. 


THE  AMERICAN  MILLENNIUM. 


279 


jnaw  the 
em ;  and 
ksof  the 
;9  of  Bo- 
en  t  that 
s,  saying 
will  (lis- 
onr  west- 
Is,  count- 
3t  plains, 
tho  care- 
ition  they 
)lc  theory 
cs  of  the 
hat,  "  the 
,,  and  that 
the  earth, 
.e  prairie  a 
us  from 
light  the 
It  is  not 
ith  which 
The  very 
3urred  to 
enjoying 
ds  would 
,  and  live 
ted  state- 
en  heard 
,0  careful 


were  they  lest  any  of  the  body  should  be  lost  that 
they  i)reserved  even  the  parings  of  their  nails  and 
clippings  of  the  hair.^  In  contradiction  to  this  the 
writer  Acosta  has  been  quoted,  who  says  that  tlio 
Peruvians  embalmed  their  dead  because  they  "  had 
no  knowledge  that  tho  bodies  should  rise  with  the 
soul." '  But,  rightly  understood,  this  is  a  confirmation 
of  La  Vega's  account.  Acosta  means  that  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine  of  the  body  rising  from  the  dust  being 
unknown  to  the  Peruvians  (which  is  perfectly  true), 
they  preserve  the  body  just  as  it  was,  so  that  the 
soul  when  it  rcturnet\  to  earth,  as  all  expected,  might 
not  be  at  a  loss  for  a  house  of  flesh. 

The  notions  thus  entertained  by  the  red  race  on  the 
resurrection  are  peculiar  to  it,  and  stand  apart  from 
those  of  any  other.  They  did  not  look  for  the  second 
life  to  be  either  better  or  worse  than  the  present  one ; 
they  regarded  it  neither  as  a  rewtijrd  nor  a  punish- 
ment to  be  sent  back  to  tho  world  of  the  living ;  nor 
is  there  satisfactory  evidence  that  it  was  ever  distinctly 
connected  with  a  moral  or  physical  theory  of  the  des- 
tiny of  the  universe,  or  even  with  tlieir  prevalent  ex- 
pectation of  recurrent  epochs  in  the  course  of  nature. 
It  is  tru^  that  a  writer  whose  personal  veracity  is 
above  ail  doubt,  Mr.  Adam  Hodgson,  relates  an  an- 
cient tradition  of  the  Choctaws,  to  the  effect  that  the 
present  world  will  be  consumed  by  a  conflagration, 
after  which  it  will  be  reformed  pleasanter  than  it  is 
now,  and  that  then  the  spirits  of  the  dead  v/ill  return 
to  the  bones  in   the  bone  mounds,  flesh  will  knit 


7. 


^  Hist,  des  Incnn,  lib.  iii.  cliap.  7. 

2  Hint,  of  (he  New  World,  bk.  v.  chap.  7. 


280 


THE  SOUL  AND  ITS  DESTINY. 


topfcthor  their  loose  joints,  and  they  shall  again  in- 
habit their  ancient  territory.* 

There  was  also  a  similar  belief  among  the  Eskimos. 
They  said  that  in  the  course  of  time  the  waters  will 
overwhelm  the  land,  purify  it  of  the  blood  of  the 
dead,  molt  the  icebergs,  and  wash  away  the  steep 
rocks.  A  wind  will  then  drive  off  the  waters,  and 
the  new  land  will  be  peopled  by  reindeers  and  young 
seals.  Then  will  He  above  blow  once  on  the  bones 
of  the  men  and  twice  on  those  of  the  women,  where- 
upon they  will  at  once  start  into  life,  and  lead  there- 
after a  joyous  existence." 

But  though  there  is  nothing  in  these  narratives 
alien  to  the  course  of  thought  in  the  native  mind,  yet 
as  the  date  of  the  first  is  recent  (1820),  as  they  are 
not  supported  (so  far  as  I  know)  by  similar  traditions 
elsewhere,  and  as  they  may  have  arisen  from  Chris- 
tian doctrines  of  a  millennium,  I  leave  them  for 
future  investigation. 

What  strikes  us  the  most  in  this  analysis  of  the 
opinions  entertained  by  the  red  race  on  a  future 
life  is  the  clear  and  positive  hope  of  a  hereafter,  in 
such  strong  contrast  to  the  feeble  and  vague  notions 
of  the  ancient  Israelites,  Greeks,  and  llomans,  and 
yet  the  entire  inertness  of  this  hope  in  leading  them 
to  a  purer  moral  life.  It  offers  another  proof  that 
the  fulfilment  of  duty  is  in  its  nature  nowise  con- 
nected with  or  derived  from  a  consideration  of  ulti- 
mate personal  consequences.    It  is  another  evidence 


1  Trnvdi  in  North  America,  p.  280. 

2  Egede,  Nachrichten  von  Gronlaml,  p.  luG. 


again  in- 

3  Eskimos, 
alters  will 
od  of  the 
tho  steep 
aters,  and 
md  young 
tlio  bonGs 
in,  where- 
i3ad  tliere- 


TUE  AMEniCAN  MlLtENNIVM, 


281 


that  the  religious  is  wholly  distinct  from  fl.n 
sentiment,  and  that  the  orLn  of  «  1  "''''^^ 

sought  in  connectiou  withfhe  idea.   7/'  ""'  '^  ^' 
personal  survival  ^'  °^  "^^^"^^^^^  ^"^ 


larratives 
mind,  yet 
\  they  are 
traditions 
m  Chris- 
bhem   for 


is  of  the 
a  future 
cafter,  in 
>  notions 
lans,  and 
ing  them 
'oof  that 
^ise  con- 
of  ulti- 
evidence 


» \ 


CHAPTER  X. 

H  THE  NATIVE   PRIESTHOOD.  ' 

Tlieir  titles.— Practitioners  of  the  healing  art  by  supernatural  means.— 
Their  power  derived  from  natural  magic  and  tire  exercise  of  the  clair- 
voyant and  mesmeric  faculties.— Examples.- Epidemic  hysteria. — 
Their  social  i^)sition. — ^Tlieir  duties  as  religious  funcfionarieg. — Terms 
of  admission  to  the  Priesthood. — Inner  organization  in  /arious  nations. 
— Their  esoteric  languages  and  secret  societies. 

THUS  picking  painfully  amid  the  ruins  of  a  race 
gone  to  wreck  centuries  ago,  thus  rejecting 
much  foreign  rubbish  and  scrutinizing  each  stone 
that  lies  around,  if  we  still  are  unable  to  rebuild  the 
edifice  in  its  pristine  symmetry,  yet  we  can  at  least 
discern  and  trace  the  ground  plan  and  outlines  of  the 
fane.  Before  leaving  the  field  to  the  richer  returns 
of  more  fortunate  workmen,  it  will  not  be  inappro- 
priate to  add  a  sketch  of  the  ministers  of  these  reli- 
gions, the  servants  in  this  temple. 

Shamans,  conjurors,  sorcerers,  medicine  men, 
wizards,  and  many  another  hard  name  have  been 
given  ihem,  but  I  shall  call  them,  priests,  for  in  their 
poor  way,  as  well  as  any  other  priesthood,  they  set 
up  to  be  the  agents  of  the  gods,  and  the  interpreters 
of  divinity.  No  tribe  was  so  devoid  of  religious  senti- 
ment as  to  be  without  them.  Their  power  was  ter- 
rible, and  their  use  of  it  unscrupulous.  Neither  men 
nor  gods,  death  nor  life,  the  winds  nor  the  waves. 


■Ml* 


MEDICINE  V8.  THEOLOGY. 


283 


il  means.— 
jf  tho  clair- 
hysteria. — 
ieg.— Terms 
ous  nations. 


of  a  race 
rejecting 
;ch  stone 
build  the 
at  least 
esofthe 
returns 
inappro- 
ese  reli- 

le    men, 

ive  been 

in  their 

I  they  set 

3rpreters 

)us  senti- 

Iwas  toi- 

tlicr  men 

Avaves, 


were  bej^ond  their  control.  Like  Old  Men  of  the 
Sea,  they  have  clung  to  the  neck  of  their  nations, 
throttling  all  attempts  at  progress,  binding  them  to 
the  thraldom  of  superstition  and  profligacy,  dragging 
them  down  to  wretchedness  and  death.  Christianity 
and  civilization  meet  in  them  their  most  determined, 
most  implacable  foes.  But  what  is  this  but  the  story 
of  priestcraft  and  intolerance  everywhere,  which  Old 
Spain  can  repeat  as  well  as  New  Spain,  the  white 
race  as  well  as  the  red  ?  Blind  leaders  of  the  blind, 
dupers  and  dui)ed  fall  into  the  ditch. 

In  their  own  languages  they  are  variously  called ; 
by  the  Algonkins  and  Dakotas,  "those  knowing  divine 
things  "  and  "  dreamers  of  the  gods  "  (^manitou-siou, 
wakanwacipi^  ;  in  Mexico,  "  masters  or  guardians 
of  the  divine  things  "  Qeopixqui,  teotecuhtW)  ;  in 
Cherokee  their  title  means,  "possessed  of  the  di- 
vine lire"  (^atsilung kelawJii)  ;  in  Iroquois,  "keepers  of 
the  faith  "  (Jionundeunf)  ;  in  Quichua,  "  the  learned  " 
(amautd)  ;  in  Maya,* "  the  listeners  "  (cocome).  The 
popular  term  in  Frencii  and  English  of  "  medicine 
men"  is  not  sucii  a  misnomer  as  might  be  supposed. 
The  noble  science  of  medicine  is  connected  with 
divinity  not  only  by  the  rudest  savage  but  the  pro- 
founde3t  j)hiloso]  jlier,  as  has  been  already  adverted  to. 
When  sickness  is  looked  upon  as  the  effect  of  the 
anger  of  a  god,  or  as  the  malicious  infliction  of  a 
sorcerer,  it  is  natural  to  seek  help  from  those  who 
assume  to  control  the  unseen  world,  and  influence  the 
fiats  of  the  AlmiiLvhty.  The  recovery  from  disease  is 
the  kindliest  cxliibitiou  of  divine  power.  Thcreforo 
the  earliest  canons  of  medicine  in  India  and  Egypt 
are  attributed  to  no  less  distinguished  authors  tliau 


1    V.  ■ :! 


^1  i;l 


284 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD. 


uhe  gods  Brahraa  and  Thoth ;  ^  therefore  the  earliest 
practitioners  of  the  healing  art  are  universally  the 
ministers  of  religion. 

But,  however  creditable  this  origin  is  to  medicine, 
its  partnership  with  theology  was  no  particular 
advantage  to  it.  These  mystical  doctors  shared  the 
disdain  still  so  prevalent  among  ourselves  for  a 
treatment  based  on  experiment  and  reason,  and  re- 
garded the  administration  of  emetics  and  purgatives, 
tonics  and  diuretics,  with  a  contempt  quite  equal  to 
that  of  the  disciples  of  Hahnemann.  The  practitioners 
of  the  rational  school  formed  a  separate  class  among 
the  Indians,  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  amulets, 
powwows,  or  spirits.'^  They  were  of  different  name 
and  standing,  and  though  held  in  less  estimation,  such 
valuable  additions  to  the  pharmacopceia  as  guaiacum, 
cinchona,  and  ipecacuanha,  were  learned  from  them. 
The  priesthood  scorned  such  ignoble  means.  Were 
they  summoned  to  a  patient,  they  drowned  his 
groans  in  a  barbarous  clangor  of  instruments  in  order 
to  fright  away  the  demon  that  possessed  him ;  they 
sucked  and  blew  upon  the  diseased  organ;  they 
sprinkled  him  with  water,  and  catching  it  again  threw 
it  on  the  ground,  thus  drowning  out  the  disease  ;  they 
rubbed  the  part  with  their  hands,  and  exhibiting  a 
bone  or  splinter  asserted  that  they  drew  it  from  the 
body,  and  that  it  had  been  the  cause  of  the  malady ; 
they  manufactured  a  little  image  to  represent  the 
spirit  of  sickness,  and  spitefully  knocked  it  to  pieces, 
thus  vicariously  destroying  its  prototype  ;  they  sang 

1  Haeser,  Gescliic  te  der  J/erficiw,pp.  4,  7:  Jena,  1815. 

2  Schoolcraft,  In  .  Tribes,  v.  p.  440. 


earliest 
sally  the 

ledicine, 
articular 
ared  the 
es  for  a 
and  re- 
rgatives, 
equal  to 
ititioners 
ss  among 
amulets, 
ent  name 
ion,  such 
uaiacum, 
om  them. 
1.     Were 
vned  his 
in  order 
m;  they 
n;  they 
in  threw 
se ;  they 
Ibiting  a 
trom  the 
I  malady; 
sent  the 
to  pieces, 
ley  sang 

1815. 


MAGIC  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 


285 


doleful  and  monotonous  chants  at  the  top  of  their 
voices,  screwed  their  countenances  into  hideous 
grimaces,  twisted  their  bodies  into  unheard  of  contor- 
tions, and  by  all  accounts  did  their  utmost  to  merit 
the  honorarium  they  demanded  for  their  services.  A 
double  motive  spurred  them  to  spare  no  pains.  For 
if  they  failed,  not  only  was  their  reputation  gone,  but 
the  next  expert  called  in  was  likely  enough  to  hint, 
with  that  urbanity  so  traditional  in  the  profession, 
that  the  illness  was  in  fact  caused  or  much  increased 
by  the  antagonistic  nature  of  the  remedies  previous- 
ly employed,  whereupon  the  chances  Avere  that  the 
doctor's  life  fell  into  greater  jeopardy  than  that  of  his 
quondam  patient. 

Considering  the  probable  result  of  this  treatment, 
we  may  be  allowed  to  doubt  whether  it  redounded  on 
the  whole  very  much  to  the  honor  of  the  fraternity. 
Their  strong  poiiits  are  rather  to  be  looked  for  in  the 
real  knowledge  gained  by  a  solitary  and  reflective 
life,  by  an  earnest  study  of  the  appearances  of  nature, 
and  of  those  hints  and  forest  signs  which  are  wholly 
lost  on  the  white  man  and  beyond  the  ordinary  insight 
of  a  native.  Travellers  often  tell  of  changes  of  the 
weather  predicted  by  them  with  astonishing  foresight 
and  of  information  of  singular  accuracy  and  extent 
gleaned  from  most  meagre  materials.  There  is  nothing 
in  this  to  shock  our  sense  of  probability — much  to 
elevate  our  opinion  of  the  native  sagacity.  They 
were  also  adepts  in  tricks  of  sleight  of  hand,  and 
had  no  mean  acquaintance  with  what  is  called  nat- 
ural magic.  They  would  allow  themselves  to  be  tied 
hand  and  foot  with  knots  innumerable,  and  at  a  sign 
would  shake  them  loose  as  so  many  wisps  of  straw ; 


I 


<  1 


280 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD. 


they  would  spit  fire  and  swallow  hot  coals,  pick 
glowing  stones  from  the  flames,  walk  naked  over  burn- 
ing brush,  and  plunge  their  arms  to  the  shoulder  in 
kettles  of  boiling  water  with  apparent  impunity.^ 
Nor  was  this  all.  With  a  skill  not  inferior  to  that 
of  the  jugglers  of  India,  they  could  plunge  knives 
into  vital  parts,  vomit  blood,  or  kill  one  another  out 
and  out  to  all  appearances,  and  yet  in  a  few  minutes 
be  as  well  as  ever ;  they  could  set  fire  to  articles  of 
clothing  and  even  houses,  and  by  a  touch  of  their 
magic  restore  them  instantly  as  perfect  as  before." 
If  it  were  not  within  our  power  to  see  most  of  these 
miracles  performed  any  night  in  our  great  cities  by 
a  well  dressed  professional,  wc  would  at  once  deny 
their  possibility.  As  it  is,  they  astonish  us  but  little. 
One  of  the  most  characteristic  exhibitions  of  their 
power  was  to  summon  a  spirit  to  answer  inquiries 
concerning  the  future  and  the  ab'sent.  A  great 
similarity  marked  this  proceeding  in  all  northern 
tribes  from  the  Eskimos  to  the  Mexicans.  A  circu- 
lar or  conical  lodge  of  stout  poles  four  or  eight  in 
number  planted  firmly  in  the  ground,  was  covered 
with  skins  or  mats,  a  small  aperture  only  being  left 
for  the  seer  to  enter.  Once  in,  he  carefully  closed 
the  hole  and  commenced  his  incantations.  Soon  the 
lodge  trembles,  the  strong  poles  shake  and  bend  as 
with  the  united  strength  of  a  dozen  men,  and 
strange,  unearthly  sounds,  now  far  aloft  in  the  air, 

^  Carver,  Travels  in  North  America,  p.  73 ;  Boston,  1802  ;  Nar- 
rative of  Jhlin  Tanner,  p.  185. 

^8ixhag\xi\,  III'*,  de  la  Nueva  Espa fi a,  Wh.  x.  cap.  20;  Le 
Livre  Sacre  ties  Quichh,  p.  177  ;  Lett,  sur  les  Superstit.  du  Pcrou^ 
pp.  8a,  91. 


3als,  pick 
)ver  burn- 
oulder  in 
mpunity.^ 
>r  to  that 
ge  knives 
other  out 
y  minutes 
irticles  of 
h  of  their 
as  before.** 
st  of  these 
,  cities  by 
once  deny 
5  but  little, 
ns  of  their 
r  inquiries 
A   great 
northern 
A  circu- 
r  eight  in 
,s  covered 
being  left 
ly  closed 
Soon  the 
d  bend  as 
men,   and 
n  the  air, 

1802 ;  Nar- 

ip.   20  ;   Le 
it.  du  Perou, 


MAGIC  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 


287 


now  deep  in  the  ground,  anon  approaching  near  and 
nearer,  reach  the  ears  of  the  spectators  At  length 
the  priest  announces  that  the  spirit  is  present,  and 
is  prepared  to  answer  questions.  An  indispensable 
preliminary  to  any  inquiry  is  to  insert  a  handful  of 
tobacco,  or  a  string  of  beads,  or  some  such  douceur 
under  the  skins,  ostensibly  for  the  behoof  of  the 
celestial  visitor,  who  would  seem  not  to  be  above 
earthly  wants  and  vanities.  The  replies  received, 
though  occasionally  singularly  clea"!*  and  correct,  are 
usually  of  that  ambiguous  purport  which  leaves  the 
inquirer  little  wiser  than  he  was  before.  For  all 
this,  ventriloquism,  trickery,  and  shrewd  knavery 
are  sufficient  explanations.  Nor  does  it  materially 
interfere  with  this  view,  that  converted  Indians,  on 
whose  veracity  we  can  rely,  have  repeatedly  averred 
that  in  performing  this  rite  they  themselves  did  not 
move  the  medicine  lodge  ;  for  nothing  is  easier  than 
in  the  state  of  nervous  excitement  they  were  then  in 
to  be  self-deceived,  as  the  now  familiar  phenomenon 
of  table-turning  illustrates. 

But  there  is  something  more  than  these  vulgar 
arts  now  and  then  to  be  perceived.  There  are 
statements  supported  by  unquestionable  testimony, 
which  ought  not  to  be  passed  over  in  silence,  and 
yet  I  cannot  but  approach  them  with  hesitation. 
They  are  so  revolting  to  the  laws  of  exact  science, 
so  alien,  I  had  almost  said,  to  the  experience  of  our 
lives.  Yet  is  this  true,  or  are  such  experiences 
01  ly  ignored  and  put  aside  without  serious  consider- 
ation ?  Are  there  not  in  the  history  of  each  of  us 
passages  which  strike  our  retrospective  thought  with 
awe,  almost  with  terror  ?    Are  there  not  in  nearly 


388 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD. 


every  community  individuals  who  possess  a  mysteri- 
ous power,  concerning  whose  origin,  mode  of  action, 
and  limits,  we  and  they  are  alike  in  the  dark?  I 
refer  to  such  organic  forces  as  aie  popularly  summed 
up  under  the  words  clairvoyance,  mesmerism,  rhab- 
domancy,  animal  magnetism,  physical  spiritualism. 
Civilized  thousands  stake  their  faith  and  hope  here 
and  hereafter  on  the  truth  of  these  mani  festat* ons  ; 
rational  medicine  recognizes  their  existence,  and 
while  she  attributes  them  to  morbid  and  exceptional 
influences,  confesses  her  want  of  more  exact  knowl- 
edge, and  refrains  from  barren  theorizing.  Let  us 
follow  her  example,  and  hold  it  enough  to  show  that 
such  i)owers,  whatever  they  are,  were  known  to  the 
native  priesthood  as  well  as  the  modern  spiritualists 
and  the  miracle  mongers  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Their  highest  development  is  what  our  ancestors 
called  "  second  sight."  Thrt  under  certain  condi- 
tions knowledge  can  pass  from  one  mind  to  another 
otherwise  than  throuo'h  the  ordinarv  channels  of  the 
senses,  is  claimed  to  be  shown  by  the  examples  of 
persons  en  rapport.  The  liir it  to  this  we  do  not  know, 
but  it  is  not  unlikely  that  clairvoyance  or  second 
sight  is  based  upon  it.  In  his  autobiography,  the 
celebratec4  Sac  chief  Black  Hawk,  relates  that  his 
great  grandfather  "  was  inspired  by  a  belief  that  at  the 
end  of  four  years  he  should  see  a  white  man,  who 
would  be  to  him  a  father."  Under  the  direction  of 
this  vision  he  travelled  eastward  to  a  certain  spot, 
and  there,  as  he  was  forewarned,  met  a  Frenchman, 
through  whom  the  natic  i  was  brought  into  alliance 
with  France.^    No  one  ft  all  versed  in  the  Indian 

1  Life  of  Black  JIawk.,  p.  13. 


TlfE  POWER  OF  SECOND  Sinnr. 


289 


mysteri- 
if  action, 
lark?     I 
summed 
jm,  rhab- 
•itualism. 
lope  here 
istat'ons ; 
nee,   and 
ceptional 
ct  knowl- 
Let  us 
jhow  that 
WW  to  the 
iritualists 

es. 

I  ancestors 
In  condi- 
another 
els  of  tho 
imples  of 
lot  know, 
r   second 
aphy,  tho 
that  his 
hat  at  the 
man,  who 
■ection  of 
;ain  spot, 
inchman, 
alliance 
,e  Indian 


character  will  doubt  the  implicit  faith  with  which 
this  legend  was  told  and  heard.  But  we  may  be 
pardoned  our  skepticism,  seeing  there  are  so  many 
chances  of  error.  It  is  not  so  with  an  anecdote  re- 
lated by  Captain  Jonathan  Carver,  a  cool-headed 
English  trader,  whose  little  book  of  travels  is  a 
good  authority.  In  1767  he  Avas  among  the  Killis- 
tenoes  at  a  time  when  they  were  in  great  straits  for 
food,  and  depending  upon  the  arrival  of  tho  traders 
to  rescue  them  from  starvation.  They  persuaded 
tho  chief  priest  to  consult  the  divinities  as  to  when 
the  relief  would  arrive.  After  the  usual  preliminaries, 
this  magnate  announced  that  next  day,  precisely 
when  the  sun  reached  the  zenith,  a  canoe  would  ar- 
rive with  further  tidings.  At  the  ai^pointed  hoar 
the  Avhole  village,  together  with  the  incredulous 
Englishman,  was  on  the  beach,  and  sure  enough,  at 
the  minute  specified,  a  canoe  swung  round  a  distant 
point  of  land,  and  rapidly  approaching  the  shore 
brought  the  expected  news.^ 

Charlevoix  is  nearly  as  trustworthy  a  writer  as 
Carver.  Yet  he  deliberately  relates  an  equally  sin- 
gular instance.^ 

But  these  examples  are  surpassed  by  one  described 
in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  of  July,  1866,  the  author  of 
Avhich,  Gen.  John  Mason  Brown,  has  assured  me  of 
its  accuracy  in  every  particular.  Some  years  since, 
at  the  head  of  a  party  of  voyageurs,  he  set  forth  in 
search  of  a  band  of  Indians  somewhere  on  the  vast 
plains  along  the  tributaries  of  the  Copper-mine  and 

1  Travs.  in  North  America,  p.  7d. 
"  Journal  II istori(iue,i>.  3G2. 


290 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD. 


\. 


Mackenzie  rivers.  Danger,  disappointment,  and  the 
fatigues  of  the  road,  niduccd  one  after  another  to 
turn  back,  until  of  the  original  ten  only  tliree  remain- 
ed. They  also  were  on  the  point  of  giving  up  the 
apparently  hopeless  quest,  when  they  were  met  by 
some  warriors  of  the  very  band  they  were  seeking. 
These  had  been  sent  out  by  one  of  their  medicine  men 
to  find  three  whites,  whose  horses,  arms,  attire,  and 
personal  api^earance  ho  minutely  described,  which 
description  was  repeated  to  Gen.  Brown  by  the  war- 
riors before  tlicy  saw  his  two  companions.  When 
afterwards,  the  priest,  a  frank  and  simple-minded  man, 
was  asked  to  explain  this  extraordinary  occurrence, 
he  could  offer  no  other  explanation  than  that  "  ho 
saw  them  coming,  and  heard  them  talk  on  their  jour- 


"1 


ney 

Many  tales  such  as  these  have  been  recorded  by 
travellers,  and  however  much  they  may  shock  oui* 
sense  of  probabilit}'',  as  well-authenticated  exhibitions 
of  a  power  which  sways  the  Indian  mind,  and  which 
has  ever  prejudiced  it  so  unchangeably  against  Chris- 
tianity and  civilization,  they  cannot  be  disregarded. 
Whether  they  too  are  but  specimens  of  refined 
knavery,  or  whether  they  are  instigations  of  the 
Devil,  or  whether  they  must  be  classed  with  other 
facts  as  illustrating  certain  obscure  and  curious  men- 


'  Sometimes  facts  like  this  can  be  explained  by  the  quickness 
of  perception  acquired  by  constant  exposure  to  danger.  The 
mind  takes  cognizance  unconsciously  of  trifling  incidents,  the 
sum  of  which  leads  it  to  a  conviction  which  the  individual 
regards  almost  as  an  inspiration.  This  is  the  explanation  of 
presentiments. 


iriMii* 


,  and  the 
Lother  to 
e  rcmain- 
5  up  the 
3  met  by 
seeking, 
icinc  men 
,ttirc,  and 
3(1,  which 
■f  the  war- 
5.     When 
nded  man, 
ccurrence, 
.  that  "  ho 
their  jour- 

icordcd  by- 
shock  oui* 
xhibitions 
and  which 
inst  Chris- 
regarded, 
f    refined 
ns  of  the 
ith  other 
rious  men- 

10  quiclcncss 

mger.     The 

iicidents,  the 

individual 

Iplanatioa  of 


THE  PO  WER  OF  SECOND  SIGHT. 


291 


tal  faculties,  each  may  decide  as  the  bent  of  his  mind 
inclines  him,  for  science  makes  no  decision. 

Those  nervous  conditions  associated  with  the  name 
of  Mesraer  were  nothing  new  to  the  Indian  magi- 
cians. Rubbing  and  stroking  the  sick,  and  the  hiy 
ing  on  of  hands,  were  common  parts  of  their  clinical 
pre .  jdures,  and  at  the  initiations  to  their  societies 
they  were  frequently  exhibited.  ObL.rvers  liavo 
related  that  among  the  Nez  Perci^s  of  Oregon,  the 
novice  was  put  to  sleep  by  songs,  incantations,  and 
"  certain  passes  of  the  hand,"  and  that  with  the  Da- 
kotas  he  would  be  struck  lightly  on  the  breast  at  a 
preconcerted  moment,  and  instantly  "  would  drop 
prostrate  on  his  face,  his  muscles  rigid  and  quivering 
in  every  fibre."  ^ 

There  is  no  occasion  to  suppose  deceit  in  this.  It 
finds  its  parallel  in  every  race  and  every  age,  and 
rests  on  a  characteristic  trait  of  certain  epochs  and 
certain  men,  which  leads  them  to  seek  the  divine, 
not  in  contemplation  on  the  laws  of  the  universe  and 
the  facts  of  self  consciousness,  but  in  an  immolation 
of  the  latter,  a  sinking  of  their  own  individuality  in 
that  of  the  spirits  whose  alliance  they  seek.  This  is 
an  outgrowth  of  that  ignoring  of  the  universality  of 
Law  which  belongs  to  the  lower  stages  of  enlight- 
enment.^ And  as  this  is  never  done  Avith  impunity, 
but  with  certainty  brings  a  jiunishment  with  it,  the 
studv  of  the  mental  conditions  thus  evoked,  and  the 

*  Schoolcraft,  Iwli'in  Tnhes,\n.  p.  287;   v.  p.  652. 

'  •' The  progress  from  doopost  ignorancn  to  enlightenment," 
remarks  Herbert  Spencer  in  his  Social  Stnlic.f,  "is  a  progress 
from  entire  luiconsciousness  of  law,  to  the  conviction  that  law  is 
universal  and  inevitable." 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTUOOD. 

results  which  follow  thorn,  offers  a  salutary  subject 
of  ledcction  to  the  theologian  as  well  as  the  physi- 
cian. For  these  examples  of  nervous  pathology  are 
identical  in  kind,  and  alike  in  conse(iuenees,  whether 
witnessed  in  the  primitive  forests  of  the  New  World, 
among  the  convulsionists  of  St.  Medard,  or  in  the 
scenes  of  a  religious  revival  in  one  of  our  own 
churches. 

Sleeplessness  and  abstemiousness,  carried  to  tho 
verge  of  endurance — seclusion,  and  the  pertinacious 
fixing  of  the  mind  on  one  subject — obstinate  gloating 
on  some  morbid  fancy,  rarely  failed  to  bring  about 
hallucinations  with  all  the  garb  of  reality,  riiysicians 
are  well  aware  that  the  more  frequently  these  diseased 
conditions  of  the  mind  are  sought,  the  more  readily 
they  are  found.  Then,  again,  they  were  often  induced 
by  intoxicating  and  narcotic  herbs.  Tobacco,  tho 
maguey,  coca ;  in  California  the  chucuaco ;  among 
the  Mexicans  the  snake  plant,  ollinhiquiorcoaxihuitl ; 
and  among  the  southern  tribes  of  our  own  country 
the  cassine  yupon  and  iris  versicolor,'  were  used; 

^  The  Creeks  had,  according  to  Hawkins,  not  less  than  seven 
sacred  plants  ;  chief  of  them  were  the  cassino  yupon,  called  by 
botanists  Ilex  vo7nUoria,  or  Ilex  cassina,  of  the  natural  order 
Aquifoliaceae  ;  and  the  blue  flag,  Iris  versicolor,  natural  order 
Iridaceje.  The  former  is  a  powerful  diuretic  and  mild  emetic, 
and  grows  only  near  the  sea.  The  latter  is  an  active  emeto- 
cathartic,  and  is  abundant  on  swampy  grounds  throughout  tlio 
Southern  States.  From  it  was  formed  the  celebrated  "black 
drink,"  with  which  fhey  opened  their  councils,  and  which 
served  them  in  place  of  s;)irits.  Two  of  the  othei's  were 
Enjvgiuvi  aquatlcum  and  Salix  Candida.  For  further  concerning 
them  see  my  National  Legend  of  the  Chahta-Muskokce  Tribes, 
pp.  8,  11. 


THE  DIVINE  MADNESS. 


203 


y  sul)jcct 
lio  pliysL- 
ology  arc 
i,  Avhetlior 
!W  World, 
or  in  the 
our  own 

ed  to  tho 
irtinacious 
to  gloating 
cing  about 
Physicians 
S6  diseased 
ore  readily 
;en  induced 

bacco,  the 
CO ;  among 

oaxihuitl ; 
ivn  country 
^vere  used ; 

33  than  seven 
[on,  culled  by 
jatural  order 

latural  order 
Iniild  emetic, 
Ictlve  emeto-^ 
li'ouchont  tiiu 
Irated  "black 

\,  find  Avliich 
othei'S   wore 

2r  concerning 

\kokce   Tribes, 


and,  it  is  even  said,  were  cultivated  for  this  purpose. 
Tho  seer  must  work  himself  up  to  a  prophetic  fury, 
or  speechless,  lio  in  apparent  death,  before  the  mind 
of  tho  gods  would  be  opened  to  him.  Trance  and 
ecstasy  wore  the  two  avenues  he  knew  to  divinity ; 
fasting  and  seclusion  the  means  employed  to  discover 
them.  His  ideal  was  of  a  prophet  who  dwelt  far 
from  men,  without  need  of  food,  in  constant  commun- 
ion with  divinity.  Such  a  one,  in  tho  legends  of  the 
Tupis,  resided  on  a  mountain  glittering  with  gold  and 
silver,  near  the  river  Uaupe,  his  only  companion  a 
dog,  his  only  occupation  dreaming  of  the  gods.  When, 
however,  an  eclipse  was  near,  his  dog  would  bark  ; 
and  then,  taking  the  form  of  a  bird,  he  would  fly 
over  the  villages,  and  learn  the  changes  that  had 
taken  place.,^ 

But  man  cannot  trample  with  impunity  on  the 
laws  of  his  physical  life,  and  the  consequences  of 
these  deprivations  and  morbid  excitements  of  the 
brain  show  themselves  in  terrible  pictures.  Not  un- 
frequently  they  were  carried  to  the  pitch  of  raving 
mania,  reminding  one  of  the  worst  forms  of  the  Ber- 
serker fury  of  the  Scandinavians,  or  the  Bacchic  rage 
of  Greece.  The  enthusiast,  maddened  with  the 
fancies  of  a  disordered  intellect,  would  start  forth 
from  his  seclusion  in  an  access  of  frenzy.  Then  woe 
to  the  dog,  the  child,  the  slave,  or  the  woman  who 
crossed  his  path ;  for  nothing  but  blood  could  satisfy 
his  craving,  and  they  fell  instant  victims  to  his  mad- 
ness. But  were  it  a  strong  man,  he  bared  his  arm, 
and  let  the  frenzied  hermit  bury  his  teeth  in  the 

1  Martins,  Von  dem  Rechtzustande  unter  den  Ureintoohnern 
BrasiiienSfii.  32. 


294 


THE  NATIVE  PRIEST UOOD. 


flesh.  Such  is  a  scene  at  this  day  not  uncommon  on 
the  northwest  coast,  and  low  of  the  natives  around 
Milbank  Sound  are  without  the  scars  the  result  of 
this  custom.^ 

This  frenzy,  terrible  enough  in  individuals,  had 
its  most  disastrous  effects  when  with  that  facility 
of  contagion  which  marks  hysterical  maladies,  it 
swept  through  whole  villages,  transforming  them 
into  bedlams  filled  with  unrestrained  madmen* 
Those  who  have  studied  the  strange  mental  epi- 
demics that  visited  Europe  in  the  middle  ages,  such 
as  the  tarantula  dance  of  Apulia,the  chorea  Gcrman- 
orum,  and  the  great  St.  Vitus'  dance,  will  l)e  prepared 
to  appreciate  the  natme  of  a  scene  at  a  Huron  vil- 
hige,  described  by  Father  le  Jeune  in  1630.  A 
festival  of  three  days  and  three  nights  had  been  in 
progress  to  relieve  a  woman  who,  from  the  descrip- 
tion, seems  to  have  been  suffering  from  some  obscure 
nervous  complaint.  Toward  the  close  of  this  vigil, 
which  throughout  was  marked  by  all  sorts  of  de- 
baucheries and  excesses,  all  the  participants  seemed 
suddenly  seized  by  ten  thousand  devils.  They  ran 
howling  and  shrieking  through  the  town,  breaking 
everything  destructible  in  the  cabins,  killing  dogs, 
beating  the  -women  and  children,  tearing  their  gar- 
ments, and  scattering  the  fires  in  every  direction  with 
bare  hands  and  feet.  Some  of  them  dropped  sense- 
less, to  remain  long  or  permanently  insane,  but  the 
others  continued  until  worn  out  with  exhaustion. 
The  Father  learned  that  during  these  orgies  not 
unfrequently  whole  villages  were  consumed,  and  the 


1  Mr.  Anderson,  in  the  Am.  Hist.  Mag.,  vii.-p. 79. 


nmon  on 
\  tuoiiml 
result  of 

lals,  had 
;  fiicility 
ladies,  it 
n<^   tliem 
nuidmeu" 
3ntiil  epi- 
.o-es,  such 
Germaii- 
1  prepared 
liiron  vil- 
1630.     A 
id  been  in 
lO  descrip- 
le  obscuro 
this  vigil, 
■ts  of  de- 
,s  seemed 
They  ran 
breaking 
ling  dogs, 
iheir  gar- 
tion  with 
ed  sense- 
1,  but  the 
haustion. 
ics   not 
,  and  the 


TflE  POWER  OF  THE  PRIESTS. 


205 


1.79. 


total  extirpation  of  some  families  had  resulted.  No 
wonder  that  he  saw  in  them  the  workings  of  the 
prineo  of  evil,  but  the  physician  is  rather  inclined  to 
class  them  with  cases  of  epi<lemic  hysteria,  the  com- 
mon products  of  violent  and  ill-directed  mental  stim- 
uli.^ 

These  various  considerations  prove  that  the  author- 
ity of  the  priesthood  did  by  no  means  rest  exclusively 
on  deception.  They  indorse  and  explain  the  asser- 
tions of  converted  natives,  that  their  powder  as 
prophets  was  something  real,  and  inexplicable  to 
themselves.  And  they  make  it  understood  how 
those  missionaries  failed  who  attempted  to  persuade 
thorn  that  all  this  boasted  power  was  false.  More 
correct  views  than  these  ought  to  have  been  sugges- 
ted by  the  facts  themselves,  for  these  magicians  did 
not  hesitate  at  times  to  test  their  strength  on  each 
other.  In  these  strange  duels  a  outrance,  one  would 
be  seated  opposite  his  antangonist,  surrounded  with 
the  mysterious  emblems  of  his  craft,  and  call  upon 
his  gods  one  after  another  to  strike  his  enemy  dead. 

1  Such  spectacles  were  nothing  uncommon.  They  are  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  the  Jesuit  Relations,  and  they  Avere  the 
chief  obstacles  to  missionary  labor.  In  the  debauches  and 
excesses  that  excited  these  temporary  manias,  in  the  reckless- 
ness of  life  and  property  they  fostered,  and  in  their  disastrous 
effects  on  mind  and  body,  are  depicted  more  than  in  any  othor 
one  trait  the  thorou,G;h  depravity  of  the  race  and  its  tendency 
to  ruin.  In  tlie  quaint  words  of  one  of  the  Catholic  fathers, 
"If  the  old  proverb  is  true  that  every  man  has  a  grain  of  mad- 
ness in  his  composition,  it  must  be  confessed  that  tliis  is  a  peo- 
ple wliere  each  has  at  least  half  an  ounce  "  (De  Quen,  liel.  de 
la  IVouv.  France,  1650,  p.  27).  For  the  instance  in  the  text  see 
lid.  dc  la  Nouv.  France,  An  1039,  pp.  88-94. 


296 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD. 


Sometimes  one,  "  gathering  his  medicine,"  as  it  was 
termed,  feeling  within  himself  that  force  of  will 
which  makes  itself  acknowledged  even  without  words, . 
would  ^  rise  in  his  might,  and  in  a  loud  and  severe 
voice  command  his  opponent  to  die !  Straightway 
the  latter  would  drop  dead,  or  yielding  m  craven 
fear  to  a  superior  volition,  forsake  the  implements 
of  his  art,  and  with  an  awful  terror  at  his  heart 
creep  to  his  lodge,  refuse  all  nourishment,  and  pres- 
ently perish.  Still  more  despotic  was  the  tyranny 
they  exerted  on  the  minds  of  the  masses.  Let  an 
Indian  once  be  possessed  of  the  idea  that  he  is 
bewitched,  and  he  will  probably  reject  all  food,  and 
sink  under  the  phantoms  of  his  own  fancy. 

How  deep  the  veneration  of  these  men  has  struck 
its  roots  in  the  soul  of  the  Indian,  it  is  difficult  for 
civilized  minds  to  conceive.  Their  sway  is  currently 
supposed  to  be  without  any  bounds,  "  extending  to 
the  raisins:  of  the  dead  and  the  control  of  all  laws  of 
nature."^  The  grave  offers  no  escape  from  their 
omnipotent  arms.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Algonkin 
tribes,  think  that  the  soul  cannot  leave  the  corpse 
until  set  free  by  the  medicinf^  men  at  their  great  an- 
nual feast ;  ^  and  the  Puelches  of  Buenos  Ayres  guard 
a  profound  silence  as  they  pass  by  the  tomb  of  some 
redoubted  necromancer,  lest  they  should  disturb  his 
repose,  and  suffer  from  his  malignant  skill.^ 

While  thus  investigating  their  real  and  supposed 
empire  over  the   physical  and  mental  world,  their 


1    ^ 

I      ! 


1  Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribes,  v.  p.  423. 

2  J.  M.  Stanley,  in  the  Smithsonian  Miscellaneous  Contrihw- 
tions,  ii.  p.  38. 

^  D'Orbiguy,  V Homme  Amcricain,  ii.  p.  81. 


I 


,  it  was 
3f  will 

words, 

severe 
ghtway 

craven 
lements 
}  heart 
lid  prcs- 
tyranny 

Let  an 
t  he  is 
)od,  and 

s  struck 
icult  for 
urrently 
idiug  to 

laws  of 
•m  their 
ilgonkin 
corpse 
jreat  an- 
[es  guard 

of  some 
iturb  his 

lupposed 
[d,  their 

Contribu- 


THE  PO  WER  OF  THE  PRIESTS. 


297 


strictly  priestly  functions,  as  performers  of  the  rites 
of  religion,  have  not  been  touched  upon.  Among 
the  hunting  tribes  these,  indeed,  were  of  the  most 
rudimentary  character.  Sacrifices,  chiefly  in  the 
form  of  feasts,  where  every  one  crammed  to  his  ut- 
most, dances,  often  winding  up  with  scenes  of  licen- 
tiousness, the  lepetition  of  long  and  monotonous 
chants,  the  makhig  o.^  the  new  fire,  these  are  the 
ceremonies  that  satisfy  the  religious  wants  of  savages. 
The  priest  finds  a  further  sphere  for  his  activity  in 
manufacturing  and  consecrating  amulets  to  keep  off 
ill  luck,  in  interpreting  dreams,  and  especially  in 
lifting  the  veil  of  the  future.  In  Peru,  for  example, 
they  were  divided  into  classes,  who  made  the  vari- 
ous means  of  divination  specialties.  Some  caused 
the  idols  to  speak,  others  derived  their  foreknowledge 
from  words  spoken  by  the  dead,  others  predicted  by 
leaves  of  tobacco  or  the  grains  and  juice  of  cocoa, 
while  to  still  other  classes  the  shapes  of  grains  of 
maize  taken  at  random,  the  appearance  of  animal 
excrement,  the  forms  assumed  by  the  smoke  rising 
from  burning  victims,  the  entrails  and  viscera  of  ani- 
mals, the  course  taken  by  a  certain  species  of  spider, 
the  visions  seen  in  drunkenness,  the  flights  of  birds, 
and  the  directions  in  Avhich  fruits  would  fall,  all 
offered  so  many  separate  fields  of  prognostication, 
the  professors  of  which  Avere  distinguished  by  differ- 
ent ranks  and  titles.^ 

As  the  intell  jctual  force  of  the  nation  was  chiefly 
centred  in  this  class,  they  became  the  acknowledged 
depositaries  of  its  sacred  legends,  the  instructors  in 

1  See  Balboa,  IL'sl.  dc  Perou,  pp.  28-30. 


',1, 

w 


298 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD 


the  art  of  preserving  thought ;  and  from  their  duty 
to  regulate  festivals,  sprang  the  observation  of  the 
motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  adjustment  of 
the  calendars,  and  the  pseudo-science  of  judicial 
astrology.  The  latter  was  carried  to  as  subtle  a 
pitch  of  refinement  in  Mexico  as  in  the  old  world ; 
and  large  portions  of  the  ancient  writers  are  taken 
up  with  explaining  the  method  adopted  by  the  native 
astrologers  to  cast  the  horoscope,  and  reckon  the 
nativity  of  the  newly-born  infant. 

How  was  this  superior  power  obtained  ?  What 
were  the  terms  of  admission  to  this  privileged  class  ? 
In  the  ruder  communities  the  power  was  strictly 
personal.  It  was  revealed  to  its  possessor  by  the 
character  of  the  visions  he  perceived  at  the  ordeal 
he  passed  through  on  arriving  at  puberty ;  and  by 
the  northern  nations  was  said  to  be  the  manifestation 
of  a  more  potent  personal  spirit  than  ordinary.  Thus 
it  is  said  of  the  New  England  Indians  that  when  one 
of  them  dreamed  that  his  personal  spirit  appeared  to 
him  in  the  form  of  a  serpent,  he  forthwith  called  a 
feast  and  became  a  pow-wow}  It  was  not  a  faculty, 
but  an  inspirr.tion ;  not  an  inborn  strength,  but  a 
spiritual  gift.  The  curious  theory  of  the  Dakotas, 
as  recorded  bvthe  Rev.  Mr.  Pond,  was  that  the  necro- 
mant  first  wakes  to  consciousness  as  a  winged  seed, 
wafted  hither  and  thither  by  the  intelligent  action  of 
the  Four  Winds.  In  this  form  he  visits  the  homes 
of  the  dift'erent  classes  of  divinities,  and  learns  the 
chants,  feasts,  and  dances,  which  it  is  proper  for  the 

'  The   Day  Breaking  of  the  Goqid  loith  the   Indians  in  New 
Enyland :  London,  10^7,  p.  27. 


ADMISSION  TO  THE  PRIESTHOOD. 


299 


ir  duty 
1  of  the 
nent  of 
judicial 
lubtle  a 
.  world ; 
re  taken 
e  native 
kon  the 

What 
d  class? 
strictly 
'  by  the 
le  ordeal 
and  by 
festation 
y.  Thus 
i^hen  one 
eared  to 
called  a 
faculty, 
h,  but  a 
akotas, 
e  necro- 
ed  seed, 
ction  of 
homes 
L-ns  the 
for  the 

Is  in  New 


human  race  to  observe,  the  art  of  omnipresence  or 
clairvoyance,  the  means  of  inflicting  and  healing 
diseases,  and  the  occult  secrets  of  nature,  man,  and 
divinity.  This  is  called  "  dreaming  of  the  gods." 
When  this  instruction  is  completed,  the  seed  enters 
one  about  to  become  a  mother,  assumes  human  form, 
and  in  duo  time  manifests  his  powers.  Four  such 
incarnations  await  it,  each  of  increasing  might,  and 
then  the  spirit  returns  to  its  original  nothingness. 
The  same  necessity  of  death  and  resurrection  was 
entertained  by  the  Eskimos.  To  become  of  the.high- 
est  order  of  priests,  it  was  supposed  requisite,  says 
Bishop  Egede,  that  an  ordinary  mortal  should  be 
drowned  and  eaten  by  sea  monsters.  Then,  when 
his  bones,  one  after  another,  were  all  washed  ashore, 
his  spirit,  which  meanwhile  had  been  learning  the 
secrets  of  the  invisible  world,  would  return  to  thorn, 
and,  clothed  in  flesh,  he  would  go  back  to  his  tribe. 
At  other  times  a  vague  longing  seizes  a  young  person, 
a  morbid  appetite  possesses  him,  or  he  falls  a  prey 
to  restlessness,  and  melancholy.  These  signs  the  old 
priests  recognize  as  the  expression  of  a  personal 
spirit  of  the  higher  order.  They  take  charge  of  the 
youth,  and  educate  him  to  the  mysteries  of  their 
craft.  For  months  or  years  he  is  condemned  to 
seclusion,  receiving  no  visits  but  from  the  bretlu'en 
of  his  order.  At  length  he  is  initiated  with  cere- 
monies of  more  or  less  pomp  into  the  brotherhood, 
and  from  that  time  assumes  that  gravity  of  demeanor, 
sententious  style  of  expression,  and  general  air  of 
mystery  and  importance,  everywhere  deemed  be- 
coming in  a  doctor  and  a  priest.  A  peculiarity  of 
the  Moxos  was,  that  they  thought  none  designated 


i:M' 

1;  • 


'^ 


ii 


I  ! 


Wl 


II 


!; 


800 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTnOOD. 


for  the  office  but  such  as  liad  escaped  from  the  claws 
of  the  South  American  tiger,^  which  must  have  effect- 
ually limited  the  guild. 

Occasionally,  in  very  uncultivated  tribes,  some 
family  or  totem  claimed  a  monopoly  of  tlie  priest- 
hood. Thus,  among  the  Nez  Percys,  of  Oregon,  it 
was  transmitted  in  one  family  from  father  to  son  and 
daughter,  but  always  with  the  proviso  that  the  chil- 
dren at  the  proper  age  reported  dreams  of  a  satis- 
factory character.'^  Perhaps  alone  of  the  Algonkin 
tribes  the  Shawnees  confined  it  to  one  totem,  but  it 
is  remarkable  that  the  greatest  of  their  prophets, 
Elskataway,  brother  of  Tecuraseh,  was  not  a  member 
of  this  clan.  From  the  most  remote  times,  the  Chero- 
kees  have  had  one  family  set  apart  for  the  priestly 
office.  This  was  when  first  known  to  the  whites  that 
of  the  Nicotani,  but  its  members,  puffed  up  with 
pride,  abused  their  birthright  so  shamefully,  and  pros- 
tituted it  so  flagrantly  to  their  own  advantage,  that 
with  savage  justice  they  were  massacred  to  the  last 
man.  Another  was  appointed  in  their  place  which 
to  this  day  officiates  in  all  religious  rites.  They  have, 
however,  the  superstition,  possibly  borrowed  from 
Europeans,  that  the  seventh  son  is  a  natural  born 
prophet,  with  the  gift  of  healing  by  touch.^  Adair 
states  that  their  former  neighbors,  tlie  Choctaws, 
permitted  the  office  of  high  priest,  or  Great  Beloved 
Man,  to  remain  in  one  family,  passing  from  father  to 
eldest   son,  and  the  very  influential  placJies  of  the 

1  D'Orbigny, /r'//omwi^  yJ »?^r/oam,  ii.  p.  235. 

2  Schoolcraft,  Ind.  Trihes,  v.  p.  G52. 

'  Dr.  ^racGowan,  in  the  Aiiier.  Hid.  Mag.,  x.  p.  139;  "Whip- 
ple, Hep.  on  the  Ind.  Triheti,  p.  35. 


be  claws 
ve  effect- 

3s,   some 
e  priest- 
regon,  it 
)  son  and 
the  cliil- 
^  a  satis- 
A.lgonkin 
m,  but  it 
prophets, 
a  member 
he  Chero- 
e  priestly 
hites  that 

up  witli 

and  pros- 
tage,  that 

the  ^ast 
ice  which 

ley  have, 
wed  from 
Liral  born 
Adair 

Shoe  taws, 
Beloved 

father  to 

es  of  the 


139;  "Whip. 


A  HEREDITARY  PRIESTHOOD. 


m 


Carib  tribes  very  generally  transmitted  their  rank 
and  position  to  their  children. 

In  ancient  Anahuac  the  prelacy  was  as  systematic 
and  its  rules  as  well  defined,  as  in  the  Church  of 
Rome.  Except  those  in  the  service  of  Huitzilopochtli, 
and  perhaps  a  few  other  gods,  none  obtained  the 
priestly  office  by  right  of  descent,  but  were  dedicated 
to  it  from  early  childhood.  Their  education  was  com- 
pleted at  the  Oalmeaac,  a  sort  of  ecclesiastical  college, 
where  instrnctiou  was  given  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the 
ancients,  and  the  esoteric  lore  of  their  craft.  The 
art  of  mixing  colors  and  tracing  designs,  the  ideo- 
gi'aphic  writing  and  plionetic  hieroglyphs,  the  songs 
and  praj'ers  used  in  public  worship,  the  national  tra- 
dition**,,  and  the  principles  of  astrology,  the  hidden 
moaning  of  symbols  and  the  use  of  musical  instru- 
ments, all  formed  parts  of  the  really  extensive  course 
of  instruction  they  there  received.  When  they  mani- 
fested a  satisfactory  acquaintance  with  this  curricu- 
lum, they  were  appointed  by  their  superiors  to  such 
positions  as  their  natural  talents  and  the  use  they  had 
made  of  them  qualified  them  for,  some  to  instruct 
children,  others  to  the  service  of  the  temples,  and 
others  again  to  take  charge  of  what  we  may  call 
country  parishes.  Implicit  subordination  of  all  to 
the  high  priest  of  Huitzilopochtli,  hereditary  ^>o^f//Va; 
maximus.,  chastity,  or  at  least  temperate  indulgence 
in  pleasure,- gravity  of  carriage  and  strict  attentio-n 
to  duty,  were  laws  laid  upon  all. 

The  state  reliction  of  Peru  was  conducted  under  the 
super vison  of  a  high  priest  of  the  Inca  family,  and 
its  ministers,  as  in  Mexico,  could  be  of  either  sex,  and 
hold  office  cither  by  inheritance,  education,  or  elec- 


8'"2 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD. 


tion.  For  political  reasons,  the  most  important  posts 
-were  usually  enjoyed  by  relatives  of  the  ruler,  but 
tliia  was  usage,  not  law.  It  is  stated  by  Garcilasso 
de  la  Vega  ^  that  they  served  in  the  temples  by 
turns,  each  being  on  duty  the  fourth  of  a  lunar  month 
at  a  time.  Were  this  substantiated  it  would  offer 
the  only  example  of  the  regulation  of  public  life  by  a 
week  of  seven  days  to  be  found  in  the  New  World. 

In  every  country  there  is  perceptible  a  desire  in 
this  class  of  men  to  surround  themselves  with  mys- 
tery, and  to  concentrate  and  increase  their  power  by 
forming  an  alliance  among  themselves.  They  affect- 
ed singularity  in  dress  and  a  professional  costume. 
Bar  tram  describes  the  junior  priests  of  the  Creeks 
as  dressed  in  white  robes  and  carrying  on  their  head 
or  arm  "  a  great  owlskin,  stuffed  very  ingeniously,  as 
an  insignia  of  wisdom  and  divination.  These  bach- 
elors are  also  distinguishable  from  the  other  people 
by  their  taciturnity,  grave  and  solemn  countenance, 
dignified  step,  and  singing  to  themselves  songs  or 
hymns,  in  a  low  sweet  voice,  as  they  stroll  about  the 
towns."  ^  The  priests  of  the  civilized  nations  adopted 
various  modes  of  dress  to  typify  the  divinity  which 
they  served,  and  their  appearance  was  often  in  the 
highest  degree  unprepossessing. 

To  add  to  their  self-importance  they  pretended  to 
converse  in  a  tongue  different  from  that  used  in  ordi- 
nary life,  and  the  chants  containing  the  prayers  and 
legends  were  often  in  this  esoteric  dialect.  Frag- 
ments of  one  or  two  of  these  have  floated  down  to 

1  ^/.<f/.  des  Tncait,  lib.  iii.  ch.  22. 
'^  Travels  in  the  Caroliiias,  p.  504. 


THE  ESOTERIC  LANGUAGE. 


I  t 
803 


it  posts 
ler,  but 
rcilasso 
pies  by 
r  month 
Id  offer 
Life  by  a 
Vorld. 
esire  in 
th  mys- 
ower  by 
jy  affect- 
30stume. 
I  Creeks 
leir  head 
ously,  as 
se  bach- 
people 
tenance, 
songs  or 
jout  the 
adopted 
;y  which 
n  in  the 

snded  to 
in  ordi- 
yers  and 
Fraij- 
iown  to 


us  from  the  Aztec  priesthood.  The  travellers  Balboa 
and  Coreal  mention  that  the  temple  services  of  Peru 
were  conducted  in  a  language  not  understood  by  the 
masses,'  and  the  incantations  of  the  priests  of  Pow- 
hatan were  not  in  ordinary  Algonkin,  but  some  ob- 
scure jargon."  The  same  peculiarity  has  been  ob- 
served among  the  Dakotas  and  Eskimos,  and  in  these 
nations,  fortunately,  it  fell  under  the  notice  of  com- 
petent linguistic  scholars,  who  have  submitted  it  to  a 
searching  examination.  The  results  of  their  labors 
prove  that  certainly  in  these  two  instances  the  sup- 
posed foreign  tongues  were  nothing  more  than  the 

^  Hist,  de  PSrou,  p.  128;  Voiages  aux  Jndes  Occldentales,  ii. 
p.  97. 

2  Beverly,  Hist,  de  la  Virginie,  p.  266.  The  dialect  he  speci- 
fies is  *'celled'0ccanich2s,"  and  on  page  252  he  says,  "On 
dit  que  la  langue  universelle  des  Indiens  de  ces  Quartiers  est 
celle  des  Occaniches,  quoiqu'ils  ne  soient  qu'une  petite  Nation, 
depuis  que  les  Anglois  connoissent  ce  Pais  ;  mais  je  ne  sais  pas 
la  difference  qui'l  y  a  entre  cette  langue  et  celle  des  Algonkins." 
(French  trans.,  Orleans,  1707.)  This  is  undoubtedly  the  same 
people  that  Johannes  Lederer,  a  German  traveller,  visited  in 
1670,  and  calls  Akenatzi.  They  dwelt  on  an  island,  in  a  branch 
of  the  Chowan  River,  the  Sapona,  or  Deep  River  (Lederer's 
Discovery  of  North  America,  in  Harris,  Voyages,  p.  20). 
Thirty  years  later  the  Encrlish  surveyor,  Lawson,  found  them  in 
the  same  spot,  and  speaks  of  t'lem  as  the  Acanechos  (see  Am. 
Hist.  Mag.,  i.  p.  16.3).  Tlieir  totem  was  that  of  the  serpent, 
and  their  name  is  not  altogether  imlike  the  Tuscarora  name  of 
this  animal  usquauhne.  As  the  serpent  was  so  widely  a  sacred 
animal,  this  gives  Beverly's  remarks  an  unusual  significance. 
It  by  no  means  follows  from  this  name  that  they  were  of  Iro- 
quois descent.  Lederer  travell'^d  with  a  Tuscan^ra  (Iroquois) 
interpreter,  who  gave  them  their  name  in  his  own  tongue. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  extremely  probable  t'-at  they  were  an  Al- 
gonkin totem,  which  had  the  exclusive  right  to  the  priesthood. 


801 


THE  NATIVE  PRIESTHOOD. 


ordinary  dialects  of  the  country  modified  by  an  af- 
fected accentuation,  by  the  introduction  of  a  few  cab- 
alistic terms,  and  by  the  use  of  circumlocutions  and 
figurative  Avords  in  place  of  ordinary  expressions,  a 
slang,  in  short,  such  as  rascals  and  pedants  are  very 
apt  to  coin.^ 

All  these  stratagems  were  intended  to  shroud  with 
impenetrable  secrecy  the  mysteries  of  the  brother- 
hood. With  the  same  motive,  the  priests  formed 
societies  of  different  grades  of  illumination,  only  to 
be  entered  by  those  willing  to  undergo  trying  ordeals, 
whose  secrets  were  not  to  be  revealed  under  the 
severest  penalties.  The  Algonkins  had  three  such 
grades,  the  waubeno,  the  meda,  and  the  jossaJceed,  the 
last  being  the  highest.  To  this  no  white  man  was 
ever  admitted.  All  tribes  appear  to  have  been  con- 
trolled by  these  secret  societies.  Alexander  von 
Humboldt  mentions  one,  called  that  of  the  Botuto  or 
Holy  Trumpet,  among  the  Indians  of  the  Orinoco, 
whose  members  must  vow  celibacy  and  submit  to 
severe  scourgings  and  fasts.  The  Collahuayas  of 
Peru  were  a  guild  of  itinerant  quacks  and  magicians, 
who  never  remained  permanently  in  one  spot. 

Withal,  there  was  no  class  of  persons  who  so 
widely  influenced  the  culture  and  shaped  the  destiny 
of  the  Indian  tribes  as  their  priests.  In  attempting 
to  gain  a  true  conception  of  the  race's  capacities  and 
historv,  there  is  no  one  element  of  their  social  life 


1  RiQ-£rs,  Omm.  and  Diet,  of  the  Dnl'ofa,  p.  G  ;  Kane,  Second 
Grhnell  Expedition,  n.  p.  1 27.  Paul  E.a:ede  gives  a  number  of 
words  and  expressions  in  the  dialect  of  the  sorcerers,  Nachrich- 
ten  von  Gronland,  p.  122. 


y  an  af- 
few  cab- 
^ons  and 
ssions,  a 
are  very 

)ud  with 
brother- 
formed 
,  only  to 
ordeals, 
ider  the 
•ee  such 
:eed^  the 
nan  was 
)en  eon- 
ler  von 
otuto  or 
3rinoco, 
ibmit  to 
ayas   of 


^     THE  ESOTERIC  LANGUAGE.  m 

which  demands  closer  attention  than  the  power  of 
these  teachers.  Hitherto,  they  have  been  spoken  of 
with  a  contempt  which  I  hope  this  chapter  shows  is 
unjustifiable.  However  much  we  may  deplore  the 
use  they  made  of  their  skill,  we  must  estimate  it  fairly, 
and  grant  it  its  due  weight  in  measuring  the  influ- 
ence of  the  religious  sentiment  on  the  history  of  man. 

20 


l<^XV^J.Uiili3, 

who   so 

destiny 

empting 

ties  and 

cial  life 

■ 

e,  Second 

umber  of 

Nachrich- 

■ 

i'  I 


:■  I  'I 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  NATIVE  RELIGIONS  ON  THE 
MOItAL  AND  SOCIAL  LIFE  OF  THE  RACE. 

1 1  Natural  religions  hitherto  considered  of  Evil  rather  than  of  Good.— Dis- 
tiuctiouH  to  be  drawn.— Morality  not  derived  from  religion.— Tlio  posi- 
tive side  of  natural  religions  in  inc;  mationB  of  divinity. — Examijle^. — 
Prayers  as  indices  of  religioua  progress. — Religion  and  social  advance-? 
meut.  — Conclusion. 

DRAWING  toward  the  conclusion  of  my  essay,  I 
am  sensible  that  the  vast  field  of  American 
mythology  remains  for  the  most  part  untouched — 
that  I  have  but  proved  that  it  is  not  an  absolute 
wilderness,  pathless  as  the  tropical  jungles  which 
now  conceal  the  temples  of  the  race ;  but  that,  go 
where  we  will,  certain  landmarks  and  guide-posts 
are  visible,  revealing  uniformity  of  design  and  pur- 
pose, and  refuting,  by  their  presence,  the  oft-repeated 
charge  of  incoherence  and  aimlessness.  It  remains 
to  examine  the  subjective  power  of  the  native  re- 
ligions, their  influence  on  those  who  held  them,  and 
the  place  they  deserve  in  the  history  of  the  race. 
What  are  their  merits,  if  merits  they  have?  what 
their  demerits?  Did  they  purify  the  life  and  en- 
lighten the  mind,  or  the  contrary?  Are  they  in  short 
of  evil  or  of  good?  The  problem  is  complex — its 
solution  most  difficult.  An  author  who  studied  pro- 
foundly the  savage  races  of  the  globe,  expressed  the 
discouraging  conviction :  "  Their  religions  have  not 


TOLERANCE  OF  NATURAL  RELIGIONS. 


807 


3N  THE 
E. 

ood.— DiB- 
-Tho  posl- 
xamiile^. — 
1  advance- 


essay,  1 
merican 
iched — 
ibsolute 
5  which 
lat,  go 
de-posts 
md  pur- 
epeated 
emains 
tive  re- 
em,  and 
le  race, 
what 
md  en- 
in  short 
ex — its 
ied  pro- 
sed the 
ave  not 


acted  as  levers  to  raise  them  to  civilization  ;  they 
have  rather  worked,  and  that  powerfully,  to  impede 
every  step  in  advance,  in  the  first  place  by  ascribing 
everything  unintelligible  in  nature  to  spiritual 
agency,  and  then  by  making  the  fate  of  man  depend- 
ent on  mysterious  and  capricious  forces,  not  on  his 
own  skill  and  foresight."  ^ 

It  would  ill  accord  with  the  theory  of  mythology 
which  I  have  all  along  maintained  if  this  verdict 
were  final.  But  in  fact  these  false  doctrines  brought 
with  them  their  own  antidotes,  at  least  to  some  ex- 
tent, and  while  we  give  full  weight  to  their  evil,  let 
us  also  acknowledge  their  good.  By  substituting 
direct  divine  interference  for  law,  belief  for  knowl- 
edge, a  dogma  for  a  fact,  the  highest  stimulus  to 
mental  endeavor  was  taken  away.  Nature,  to  the 
heathen,  is  no  harmonious  whole  swayed  by  eternal 
principles,  but  a  chaos  of  causeless  effects,  the  mean- 
ingless play  of  capricious  ghosts.  He  investigates 
not,  because  he  doubts  not.  All  events  are  to  him 
miracles.  Therefore  his  faith  knows  no  bounds,  and 
those  who  teach  that  doubt  is  sinful  must  contem- 
plate him  with  admiration.  The  damsels  of  Nica- 
ragua destined  to  be  thrown  into  the  craters  of  vol- 
canoes, went  to  their  fate,  says  Pascual  de  Anda- 
goya,  "  happy  as  if  they  were  going  to  be  saved,"  ' 
and  doubtless  believing  so.  The  subjects  of  a  Cen- 
tral American  chieftain,  remarks  Oviodo,  "  look  upon 
it  as  the  crown  of  favors  to  be  permitted  to  die  with 
their  cacique,  and   thus  to  acquire  immortality."* 

1  Waitz,  Anthropologic  der  Nalurvoelker,  i.  p.  459. 

2  Navarrete,   Viages,  iii.  p.  415. 

8  Relation  de  Cueba,  p.  140.    Ed.  Teniaux-Compans. 


!.. 


SOB 


INFLUENCE  OF  NATIVE  REUGIONS. 


The  power  exerted  by  the  priests  rested,  as  they 
themselves  often  saw,  largely  on  the  implicit  accept- 
ance of  their  dicta. 

In  some  respects  the  contrast  here  offered  to  en- 
lightened nations  is  not  in  favor  of  the  latter.  Bor- 
rowing the  antithesis  of  the  poet,  one  might  exclaim — 

♦«  This  is  all 
The  gain  we  reap  from  all  the  wisdom  sown 
Through  ages :  Nothing  doubted  those  first  sons 
Of  Time,  while  we,  the  schooled  of  centuries, 
Nothing  believe.'* 

But  the  complaint  is  unfounded.  Faith  is  dearly 
bought  at  the  cost  of  knowledge;  nor  in  a  better 
sense  has  it  gone  from  among  us.  Fur  more  sub- 
lime than  any  known  to  the  barbarian  is  the  faith  of 
the  astronomer,  who  spends  the  nights  in  marking 
the  seemingly  wayward  motions  of  the  stars,  or  of 
the  anatomist,  who  studies  with  unwearied  zeal  the 
minute  fibres  of  the  organism,  each  upheld  by  the 
unshaken  conviction  that  from  least  to  greatest 
throughout  this  universe,  purpose  and  order  every- 
where prevail. 

Natural  religions  rarely  offer  more  than  this  nega- 
tive opposition  to  reason  They  are  tolerant  to  a 
degree.  The  savage,  void  of  any  clear  conception  of 
a  supreme  deity,  sets  up  no  claim  that  his  is  the  only 
true  church.  If  he  is  conquered  in  battle,  he  imagines 
that  it  is  owing  to  the  inferiority  of  his  own  gods  to 
those  of  his  victor,  and  he  rarely  therefore  requires 
any  other  reasons  to  make  him  a  convert.  Acting 
on  this  principle,  the  Incas,  when  they  overcame  a 
strange  province,  sent  its  most  venerated  idol  for  a 
time  to  the  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Cuzco,  thus  proving 


.  '^11 


TOLERANCE  OF  RELIGIONS. 


300 


as  they 
accept- 

l  to  eii- 
r.  liov- 
claini — 

I 

)ons 


is  dearly 
a  better 
lore  sub- 
)  faith  of 
marking 
irs,  or  of 
zeal  the 
by  the 
greatest 
;r  every- 

lis  nega- 
ant  to  a 
eption  of 
the  only 
imagines 
1  gods  to 
requires 
Acting 
grcame  a 
:lol  for  a 
proving 


its  inforio-'ty  to  their  own  divinity, but  took  no  more 
violent  stc[)s  to  propagate  their  creeds.*  So  in  tho 
city  of  Mexico  there  was  a  temple  appropriated  to 
tho  idols  of  conquered  nations  in  which  they  were 
Bhut  up,  both  to  prove  their  weakness  and  prevent 
them  from  doing  mischief.  A  nation,  like  an  indi- 
vidual, was  not  inclined  to  patronize  a  deity  who  had 
manifested  his  incompetence  by  allowing  his  charge 
to  be  worn  away  by  disaster.  As  far  as  can  now  be 
Been,  in  matters  intellectual,  tho  religions  of  ancient 
IVIoxico  and  Peru  were  far  more  liberal  than  that 
introduced  by  tho  Spanish  concjuerors,  which,  claim- 
ing the  monopoly  of  truth,  sought  to  enforce  its  claim 
by  in(iuisitions  and  censorships. 

In  this  view  of  the  relative  powers  of  deities  lay  a 
potent  corrective  to  the  doctrine  that  the  fate  of  man 
Avas  dependent  on  the  caprices  of  the  gods.  For  no 
belief  was  more  universal  than  that  which  assigned 
to  each  individual  a  guardian  spirit.  This  invisible 
monitor  was  an  ever  present  help  in  trouble.  He 
suggested  expedients,  gave  advice  and  warning  in 
dreams,  protected  in  danger,  and  stood  ready  to  foil 
the  machinations  of  enemies,  divine  or  human.  With 
unlimited  faith  in  this  protector,  attributing  to  him 
the  fortunate  chances  of  life  and  the  devices  suggested 
by  his  own  quick  wits,  the  savage  escaped  the  oppres- 
sive thought  that  he  was  the  slave  of  demoniac  forces, 
and  dared  the  dangers  of  the  forest  and  the  war  path 
Avithout  anxiety. 

By  far  the  darkest  side  of  such  a  religion  is  that 
which  it  presents  to  morality.     The  religious  sense 

^  La  Vega,  Hist,  des  Incas,  liv.  v.  cap.  12. 


310 


INFLUENCE  OF  NATIVE  RELIGIONS. 


is  by  no  means  the  voice  of  conscience.  The 
Takahli  Indian  wlien  sick  makes  a  full  confession  of 
sins,  but  a  murder,  however  unnatural  and  unpro- 
voked, he  does  not  mention,  not  counting  it  a  crime.* 
Scenes  of  licentiousness  were  approved  and  sustained 
throughout  the  continent  as  acts  of  worship  ;  maiden- 
hood was  in  many  parts  offered  up  or  claimed  by  the 
priests  as  a  right ;  in  Central  America  twins  were 
slain  for  religious  motives  ;  human  sacrifice  was 
common  throughout  the  tropics,  and  was  not  unusual 
in  higher  latitudes ;  cannibalism  was  often  enjoined ; 
and  in  Peru,  Florida,  and  Central  America  it  was 
not  uncommon  for  parents  to  slay  their  own  children 
at  the  behest  of  a  priest.-*  The  philosophical  moralist, 
contemplating  such  spectacles,  has  thought  to  recog- 
nize in  them  one  consoling  trait.  All  history,  it  has 
been  said,  shows  man  living  under  an  irritated  God» 
and  seeking  to  appease  him  by  sacrifice  of  blood ;  the 
essence  of  all  religion,  it  has  been  added,  lies  in  that 
of  which  sacrifice  is  the  symbol,  namely,  in  the  of- 
fering up  of  self,  in  the  rendering  up  of  our  will  to 
the  will  ofGod.^   But  sacrifice,  when  not  a  token  of 

f  1  Morse,  Rep.  on  (lie  Ind.  Tribes,  App.  p.  345. 

2  Ximenes,  Origen  de  los  Indios  de  Guatemala^  p.  192  ;  Acosta, 
Hist,  of  the  Ncto  World,  lib.  v.  chap.  18. 

3  Joseph  de  Maistre,  Eclaircissement  sur  leu  Sacrifices;  Trench, 
Ilulsean  Lectures,  p.  180.  The  famed  Abbe  Lammennais  and 
Professor  Sepp,  of  Munich,  with  these  two  writers,  may  be 
taken  as  t'\e  chief  exponents  of  a  school  of  mythologists,  all  of 
whom  start  from  the  theories  first  laid  down  by  Count  de 
INIaistre  in  his  Soirees  de  St.  Pete-'  hourg.  To  them  the  strongest 
proof  of  Christianity  lies  in  the  traditions  and  observances  of 
heathendom.  For  these  show  the  wants  of  the  religious  sense, 
and  Christianity,  they  maintain,  purifies  and  satisfies  them  all. 


cse^tU 


THE  TRUTH  OF  NATURAL  RELIGIONS. 


311 


gratitude,  cannot  bo  thus  explained.  It  is  not  a 
rendering  up,  but  a  substitution  of  our  will  for  God's 
will.  A  deity  is  angered  by  neglect  of  his  dues  ;  he 
will  revenge,  certainly,  terribly,  we  know  not  how  or 
when.  But  as  punishment  is  JiU  ho  desires,  if  we 
punish  oursel'/es  he  will  be  satisfied;  and  far  better 
is  such  self-inflicted  torture  than  a  fearful  looking 
for  of  judgment  to  come.  Craven  fear,  not  without 
some  dim  sense  of  the  implacability  of  nature's  laws, 
is  at  its  root.  Looking  only  at  this  side  of  religion, 
the  ancient  philosopher  averred  that  the  gods  existed 
solely  in  the  apprehensions  of  their  votaries,  and  the 
moderns  have  asserted  that  "fear  is  the  father  of 
religion,  love  her  late-born  daughter ; "  ^  that  "  the 
first  form  of  religious  belief  is  nothing  else  but  a  hor- 
ror of  the  unknown  ;  "  and  that  "  no  natural  religion 
appears  to  have  been  able  to  develop  from  a  germ 
within  itself  anything  whatever  of  real  advantage  to 
civilization."  ^ 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  excuse  the  enormities  thus 
committed  under  the  garb  of  religion,  or  to  ignore 
their  disastrous  consequences  on    human  progress. 

The  rites,  symbols,  and  legends  of  every  natural  religion,  they  say, 
are  true,  and  not  falsa  ;  all  that  is  required  is  to  assign  them  their 
proper  places  and  their  real  meaning.  Therefore  the  strange 
resemblances  in  heathen  myths  to  what  is  revealed  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  well  as  the  ethical  anticipations  which  have  been  found 
in  ancient  philosophies,  all  so  far  from  proving  that  Christianity 
is  a  natural  product  of  the  human  mind,  in  fact,  are  confirma- 
tions of  it,  unconscious  prophecies,  and  presentiments  of  the 
truth. 

1  Alfx'ed  Maury,  La  Magk  ct  V Aatrologie  dans  V Antiquite  et  au 
Moi/en  Age,  p.  8:  Paris.  1860. 
'■*  WaitiJ,  Anthropologi€,\.  pp.  325,  465. 


812 


INFLUENCE  OF  NATIVE  RELIGIONS. 


Yet  this  question  is  a  fair  one — if  the  natural  re- 
ligious belief  has  in  it  no  germ  of  anything  better, 
whence  comes  the  manifest  and  undeniable  improve- 
ment occasionally  witnessed — as,  for  example,  among 
the  Toltecs,  the  Peruvians,  and  the  Mayas?  The 
reply  is  by  the  inlluence  of  great  men,  who  cultivated 
within  themselves  a  purer  faith,  lived  it  in  their  lives, 
preached  it  successfully  to  their  fellows,  and,  at  their 
death,  still  survived  in  the  memory  of  their  nation 
unforgotten  models  of  noble  qualties.^  Where,  in 
America,  is  any  record  of  such  men  ?  We  are  pointed, 
in  answer,  to  Quetzalcoatl,  Viracocha,  Zamna,  and 
their  congeners.  But  these  august  figures  I  have  showM 
tobewliolly  mythical,  creations  of  the  religious  fancy, 
parts  and  parcels  of  the  earliest  religion  itself.  The 
entire  theory  falls  to  nothing,  therefore,  and  we  dis- 
cover a  positive  side  to  natural  religions — one  that 
conceals  a  germ  of  endless  progress,  which  vindi- 
cates their  lofty  origin,  and  proves  that  He  "  is  not 
far  from  every  one  of  iis." 

I  have  already  analyzed  these  figures  under 
their  physical  aspect.  Let  it  be  observed  in  what 
antithesis  they  stand  to  most  other  mythological 
creations.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  they  prim- 
arily correspond  to  the  stable,  the  regular,,  the  cos- 
mical  phenomena,  that  they  are  always  conceived 
under  human  form,  not  as  giants,  fairies,  or  strange 
beasts  ;  that  they  were  said  at  one  time  to  have  been 
visible  leaders  of  their  nations,  that  they  did  not 
suffer  death,  and  that,  though  absent,  tliey  are  ever 
present,  favoring  those  who  remain  mindful  of  their 


So  says  Dr.  Waitz,  Anthropologic ,  i.  p.  465. 


i    iJ 


THE  TRUTH  OF  NATURAL  RELIGIONS. 


313 


tural  re- 
T  better? 
improve- 
e,  among 
IS?     The 
ultivated 
tieir  lives, 
L,  at  their 
iir  nation 
Vherc,  in 
e  pointed, 
mna,  and 
ive  bho  WM 
ous  fancy, 
ielf.     The 
id  we  dis- 
-onc  that 
ich  vinfVi- 
e  "  is  not 

es  under 
I  in  what 
thological 
loy  prim- 

the  cos- 
conceived 
)r  strange 

lave  been 
y  did  not 
S"-  are  ever 
il  of  their 

15. 


precepts.     I  touched  but  incidentally  on  their  moral 
aspects.     This  was  likewise  in  contrast  to  the  major- 
ity of  inferior  deities.     The  worship  of  the  latter  was 
a   tribute  extorted  by  fear.       The  Indian  deposits 
tobacco  on  the  rocks  of  a  rapid,  that  the  spirit  of  the 
swift   waters    may   not   swallow   his   canoe ;    in  a 
storm  he  throws  overboard  a   dog  to  appease   the 
,  siren  of  the  angry  waves.  He  used  to  tear  the  hearts 
from  his  captives  to  gain  the  favor  of  the  god  of  war. 
He  provides  himself  with  talismans  to  bind  hostile  dei- 
ties.    He  fees  the  conjurer  to  exorcise  the  demon  of 
disease.     He  loves  none  of  them,  he  respects  none  of 
them ;  he  only  fears  their  wayward  tempers.     They 
are  to  him  mysterious,  invisible,  capricious  goblins. 
But,  in  his  highest  divinity,  he  recognized  a  Father 
and  a  Preserver,  a  benign  Intelligence,  who  provided 
for  him  the  comforts  of  life — man,  like  himself,  yet 
a  god — God  of  All.     "  Go  and  do  good,"  was  the 
parting  injunction  of  his  father  to  Michabo  in  Algon- 
kin  legend ;  ^  and  in  their  ancient  and  uncorrupted 
stories  such  is  ever  his  object.     "  The  worship  of 
Tamu,"  the  culture  hero  of  the  Guaranis,  says  the 
traveller  D'Orbigny,    "  is  one  of  reverence,  not  of 
fear." "        They  were  ideals,  slimming  up  in  them- 
-^  elves  the  best  traits,  the  most  approved  virtues  of 
whole  nations,  and  were  adored  in  a  very  different 
spirit  from  other  divinities. 

None  of  them  has  more  humane  and  elevated  traits 
than  Quetzalcoatl.  He  was  represented  of  majestic 
stature  and  dignified  demeanor.  In  his  train  came 
skilled  artificers  and  men  of  learning.     He  was  chaste 

1  Schoolcraft,  Algic  liesearches,  i.  p.  143. 

2  L'llomme  Amhicain,  ii.  p.  319. 


■n. 


814 


INFLUENCE  OF  NATIVE  RELIGIONS. 


If 


and  temperate  in  life,  wise  in  council,  generous  of 
gifts,  conquering  rather  by  arts  of  peace  than  of  war ; 
delighting  in  music,  flowers,  and  brilliant  colors,  and 
so  averse  to  human  sacrifices  that  he  shut  his  ears 
with  both  hands  when  they  were  even  mentioned.* 
Such  was  the  ideal  man  and  supreme  god  of  a  people 
who  even  a  Spanish  monk  of  the  sixteeth  century 
xclt  constrained  to  confess  were  "  a  good  people, 
attached  to  virtue,  urbane  and  simple  in  social  inter- 
course, shunning  lies,  skillful  in  arts^  pious  towards 
their  gods."^  Is  it  likely,  is  it  possible,  that  with 
such  a  model  as  this  before  their  minds,  they  received 
no  benefit  from  it  ?  Was  not  this  a  lever,  and  a 
mighty  one,  lifting  the  race  toward  civilization  and 
a  purer  faith. 

Transfer  the  field  of  observation  to  Yucatan,  and 
we  find  in  Zamna,  to  New  Granada  and  in  Nemque- 
teba,  to  Peru  and  in  Viracocha,  or  his  reflex  Manco 
Capac,  the  lineaments  of  Quetzalcoatl — modified,  in- 
deed, by  difference  of  blood  and  temperament,  but 
each   combining  in   himself  all  the  qualities  most 
esteemed  by  their  several  nations.     Were  one  or  all 
of  these  proved  to  bo  historical  personages,  still  the 
fact  remains  that  the  primitive  religious  sentiment, 
investing  them  with  the  best  attributes  of  humanity, 
dwelling  on  them  as  its  models,  worshipping  them  as 
gods,  contained  a  kernel  of  truth  potent  to  encourage 
moral  excellence.     But  if  they  were  mythical,  then 
tliis  truth  was  of  spontaneous  growth,  self-developed 
by  the  growing  distinctness  of  the  idea  of  God,  a 

1  Brasseur,  Ilist.  de  Mexique,  liv.  iii.  chaps .  1  and  2. 
-  Sahagun,  Hist,  de  la  Nueva  Espafia,  lib.  x.  cap.  29. 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  PRAYERS. 


816 


rous  of 
of  war ; 
ors,  and 
his  ears 
itioned.* 
a  people 
century 
people, 
al  inter- 
towards 
lat  with 
received 
r,  and  a 
bion  and 

tan,  and 
!^emque- 
c  Manco 
ified,  in- 
ent,  but 
es  most 
le  or  all 
still  the 
itiment, 
imanity, 
them  as 
I  courage 
cal,  then 
jveloped 
God,  a 


2. 
L  29. 


living  witness  that  the  religious  sense,  like  every 
other  faculty,  has  within  itself  a  power  of  endless 
evolution. 

If  we  inquire  the  secret  of  the  happier  influence  of 
such  an  ideal  in  worship,  it  is  all  contained  in  one 
word — its  humanity.  '■''  The  Ideal  of  Morality,"  says 
the  contemplative  Novalis,  "  has  no  more  dangerous 
rival  than  the  Ideal  of  the  Greatest  Strength,  of  the 
most  vigorous  life,  the  Brute  Ideal"  (^das  Thier- 
JdeaV)}  Culture  advances  in  proportion  as  man  re- 
cognizes what  faculties  are  peculiar  to  him  as  man^ 
and  devotes  himself  to  their  education.  The  moral 
value  of  religions  can  be  very  precisely  estimated  by 
the  human  or  the  brutal  character  of  their  gods.  The 
worship  of  Quetzalcoatl  in  the  city  of  Mexico  was 
subordinate  to  that  of  lower  conceptions,  and  conse- 
quently the  more  sanguinary  and  immoral  were  the 
rites  there  practised.  The  Algonkins,  vho  knew  no 
other  meaning  for  Michabo  than  the  Great  Hare,  had 
lost,  by  a  false  etymology,  the  best  part  of  their  re- 
ligion. '         .' 

Looking  around  for  other  standards  wherewith  to 
measure  the  progress  of  the  knowledge  of  divinity  in 
the  New  World,  prayer  suggests  itself  as  one  of  the 
least  deceptive.  "  Prayer,"  to  quote  again  the  words 
of  Novalis,**  "  is  in  religion  what  thought  is  in  philo- 
sophy. The  religious  sense  prays,  as  the  reason  thinks." 
Guizot,  carrying  the  analysis  farther,  thinks  that  it  is 
prompted  by  a  painful  conviction  of  the  inability  of 
our  will  to  conform  to  the  dictates  of  reason."  Origin- 

1  Novalis,  Schrifien,  i.  p.  244  :  Berlin,  1837. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  267. 

"  Hist,  de  la  Civilisation  en  France,  i.  pp.  122,  130. 


816 


INFLUENCE  OF  NATIVE  RELIGIONS. 


\ 


!l 


ally  it  was  connected  with  the  belief  that  divine 
caprice,  not  divine  law,  governs  the  universe,  and 
that  material  benefits  rather  than  spiritual  gifts  are 
to  be  desired.  The  gradual  recognition  of  its  lim- 
itations and  proper  objects  marks  religious  ad- 
vancement. The  Lord's  Prayer  contains  seven 
petitions,  only  one  of  which  may  perhaps  be  for  a 
temporal  advantage,  and  it  the  least  that  can  bo 
asked  for.  What  immeasurable  interval  between  it 
and  the  prayer  of  the  Nootka  Indian  on  preparing 
for  war ! — 

"  Great  Quahootze,  let  me  live,  not  be  sick,  find 
the  enemy,  not  fear  him,  find  him  asleep,  and  kill  a 
great  many  of  him.''  ^ 

Or  again,  between  it  and  the  petition  of  a  Huron 
to  a  local  god,  heard  by  Father  Brebeuf: — • 

"Oki,  thou  who  livest  in  this  spot,  I  offer  thee 
tobacco.  Help  us,  save  us  from  shipwreck,  defend  us 
from  our  enemies,  give  us  a  good  trade,  and  bring  us 
back  safe  and  sound  to  our  villages."  ^ 

This  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  supplications  of  the 
lowest  religion.  Another  equally  authentic  is  given 
by  Father  Allouez.^  In  1670  he  penetrated  to  an 
outlying  Algonkin  village,  never  before  visited  by 
a  white  man.  The  inhabitants,  startled  by  his 
pale  face  and  long  black  gown,  took  him  for  a  di- 
vinity. They  invited  him  to  the  council  lodge,  a 
circle  of  old  men  gathered  around  him,  and  one  of 
them,  approaching   him  with  a  double   handful  of 

1  Narrative  of  J.  R.  Jetoett  among  the  Savages  of  Nootka  Sound, 
p.  121. 

2  ii,el.  de  la  Nouv.  France,  An  1636,  p.  109. 
sjbid.,  Anl670,  p.  99. 


"srii 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  P.RA7ER8. 


8^7 


tobacco,  thus  addressed  him,  the  others  grunting 
approval : — 

"  This,  indeed,  is  well,  Blackrobe,  that  thou  dost 
visit  us.  Have  mercy  upon  us.  Thou  art  a  Manito. 
We  give  thee  to  smoke. 

"  The  Naudowessies  and  Iroquois  are  devouring 
us.    Have  mercy  upon  us. 

"We  are  often  sick;  our  children  die;  we  are 
hungry.  Have  mercy  upon  us.  Hear  me,  O  Manito, 
I  give  thee  to  smoke. 

*'  Let  the  earth  yield  us  corn ;  the  rivers  give  us 
fish ;  sickness  not  slay  us  ;  nor  hunger  so  torment  us. 
Hear  us,  O  Manito,  we  give  thee  to  smoke." 

In  this  rude  but  touching  petition,  wrUng  from 
the  heart  of  a  miserable  people,  nothing  but  their 
Avretchedness  is  visible.  Not  the  faintest  trace  of  an 
aspiration  for  spiritual  enlightenment  cheers  the  eye 
of  the  philanthropist,  not  the  remotest  conception 
that  through  suffering  we  are  purified  can  be  de- 
tected. 

By  the  side  of  these  examples  we  may  place  the 
prayers  of  Peru  and  Mexico,  forms  composed  by  the 
priests,  written  out,  committed  to  m^imory,  and  re- 
peated at  certain  seasons.  They  are  not  less  authentic, 
having  been  collected  and  translated  in  the  first 
generation  after  the  conquest.  One  to  Viracocha 
Pachacamac,  was  as  follows : — 

"  O  Pacharamac,  thou  who  hast  existed  from  the 
beginning  and  shalt  exist  unto  the  end,  powerful  and 
pitiful ;  who  createdst  man  by  saying,  let  man  be ;  who 
defendest  us  from  evil  and  preservcsfc  our  life  and 
health ;  art  thou  in  the  sky  or  in  the  earth,  in  the 
clouds  or  in  the  depths  ?      Hear  the  voice  of  him  who 


818 


INFLUENCE  OF  NATIVE  RELIGIONS. 


implores  thee,  and  grant  him  his  petitions.  Give  us 
life  everlasting,  preserve  us,  aud  accept  this  our  sac- 
rifice." » 

In  the  voluminous  specimens  of  Aztec  prayers 
preserved  by  Sahagun,  moral  improvement,  the 
"  spiritual  gift,"  is  very  rarely  if  at  all  the  object 
desired.  Health,  harvests,  propitious  rains,  release 
from  pain,  preservation  from  dangers,  illness,  and 
defeat,  these  are  the  almost  unvarying  themes.  But 
here  and  there  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  something  bet- 
ter, some  dim  sense  of  the  beauty  of  suffering,  somo 
glimmering  of  the  truth  so  nobly  expressed  by  the 
poet: — 

aus  des  Busens  Tiefe  stronit  Gedeihn 
Der  festen  Duldung  und  entschlossner  That. 
Nicht  Schmerz  ist  Ungluck,  Gliick  nicht  immer  Freude ; 
"Wer  seiu  Geschick  erfiillt,  dem  lacheln  beide. 

"Is  it  possible,"  says  one  of  them,  "that  this 
scourge,  this  affliction,  is  sent  to  us  not  for  our  cor- 
rection and  improvement,  but  for  our  destruction 
and  annihilation  ?  O  Merciful  Lord,  let  this  chas- 
tisement with  which  thou  hast  visited  us,  thy  people, 
be  as  those  which  a  father  or  mother  inflicts  on  a 
child,  not  out  of  anger,  but  to  the  end  that  he  may 
be  free  from  follies  and  vices."  Another  formula, 
used  when  a  chief  was  elected  to  some  important 

1  Geronimo  de  Ore,  Symhnlo  CatJiohco  Indiano,  chap,  ix.,  quo- 
ted by  Ternaux-Compans.  De  Ore  was  a  native  of  Peru  and 
held  the  position  of  Professor  of  Theology  in  Cuzco  in  the  lat- 
ter half  of  the  sixteenth  century.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
erudition,  and  there  need  be  no  hesitation  in  accepting  this  ex- 
traordinary prayer  as  genuine.  For  his  life  and  writings  see 
Nic.  Antonio,  Bib.  Ilisp.  Nova,  torn.  ii.  p.  43. 


RELIGION  AND  ART. 


819 


position,  reads :  "  O  Lord,  open  his  ej^es  and  give 
him  light,  sharpen  his  ears  and  give  him  understand- 
ing, not  that  he  may  use  them  to  his  own  advantage, 
but  for  the  good  of  the  people  he  rules.  Lead  him 
to  know  and  to  do  thy  will,  let  him  be  as  a  trumpet 
which  sounds  thy  words.  Keep  him  from  the  com- 
mission of  injustice  and  oppression."  ^ 

At  first,  good  and  evil  are  identical-  with  pleasure 
and  pain,  luck  and  ill-luck.  "  The  good  are  good 
warriors  and  hunters,"  said  a  Pawnee  chief,^  which 
would  also  be  the  opinion  of  a  wolf,  if  he  could 
express  it.  Gradually  the  eyes  of  the  mind  are 
opened,  and  it  is  perceived  that  "  whom  He  lov- 
eth,  He  chastiseth,"  and  physical  give  iDlace  to  moral 
ideas  of  good  and  evil.  Finally,  as  the  idea  of  God 
rises  more  distinctly  before  the  soul,  as  "  the  One 
by  whom,  in  whom,  and  through  whom  all  things 
are,"  evil  is  seen  to  be  the  negation,  not  the  oppo- 
site of  good,  and  itself  "  a  porch  oft  opening  on  the 


sun 


j> 


The  influence  of  these  religions  on  art,  science,  and 
social  life,  must  also  be  weighed  in  estimating  their 

value. 

Very  many  of  the  remains  of  American  plastic 
art,  sculpture,  and  painting,  were  designed  for 
religious  purposes.  Idols  of  stone,  wood,  or  baked 
clay,  were  found  in  every  Indian  tribe,  without  ex- 
ception, so  far  as  I  can  judge  ;  and  in  only  a  few  di- 
rections  do  these  arts  seem  to  have  been  applied  to 
secular  purposes.     The  most  ambitious  attempts  of 

1  Sahagun,  Hht.  de  la  Niieva  Espatla,  lib.  vi.  caps.  1,  4. 
«  Morse,  Rep.  on  the  Ind.   Tribes,  App.  p.  250. 


M 


! 


sad 


INFLUENCE  OF  NATIVE  RELKUONS. 


11 

i 

1 

11 

flu'    '''S 

1 

1  1  ^^w' 

III 

il 

ii 

architecture,  it  is  plain,  were  inspired  by  religious 
fervor.  The  great  pyramid  of  Cholula,  the  enormous 
mounds  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  the  elaborate  edF- 
iices  on  artificial  hills  in  Yucatan,  were  miniature 
representations  of  the  mountains  hallowed  by  tradi- 
tion, the  "  Hill  of  Heaven,"  the  peak  oh  which  their 
ancestors  escaped  in  the  flood,  or  that  in  the  terrestrial 
paradise  from  which  flow  the  rains.  Their  construc- 
tion took  men  away  from  war  and  the  chase,  encour- 
aged agriculture,  peace,  and  a  settled  disposition, 
and  fostered  the  love  of  property,  of  country,  and  of 
the  gods.  The  priests  were  also  close  observers  of 
nature,  and  ■  were  the  first  to  discover  its  simpler 
laws.  The  Aztec  sages  were  as  devoted  star-gazers 
as  the  Chaldeans,  and  their  calendar  bears  unmis- 
takable marks  of  native  growth,  and  of  its  original 
purpose  to  fix  the  annual  festivals.  Writing  by  means 
of  pictures  and  symbols  was  cultivated  chiefly  for 
religious  ends,  and  the  word  hieroglyph  is  a  witness 
that  the  phonetic  alphabet  was  discovered  under  the 
stimulus  of  the  religious  sentiment.  Most  of  the 
aboriginal  literature  was  composed  and  taught  by 
the  priests,  and  most  of  it  refers  to  matters  connected 
with  their  superstitions.  As  the  gifts  of  votaries  and 
the  erection  of  temples  enriched  the  sacerdotal  order 
individually  and  collectively,  the  terrors  of  religion 
were  lent  to  the  secular  arm  to  enforce  the  rights  of 
property.  Music,  poetic,  scenic,  and  historical  reci- 
tations, formed  parts  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  more 
civilized  nations,  and  national  unity  was  strength- 
ened by  a  common  shrine.  An  active  barter  in 
amulets,  lucky  stones,  and  charms,  existed  all  over 
the  continent,  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  we 


RELIGION  AND  ART. 


821 


might  think.  As  experience  demonstrates  that  noth- 
ing so  efliciently  promotes  civilization  as  the  freo 
and  peaceful  intercourse  of  man  with  man,  I  lay  par- 
ticular stress  on  the  common  custom  of  making  pil- 
grimages. 

The  temple  on  the  island  of  Cozumcl  in  Yucatan 
was  visited  every  year  by  such  multitudes  from  all 
parts  of  the  peninsula,  that  roads,  paved  witli  cut 
stones,  had  been  constructed  from  tlie  neighboring 
shore  to  the  principal  cities  of  the  interior.^  Each 
village  of  the  Muyscas  is  said  to  have  had  a  beaten 
path  to  Lake  Guatavita,  so  numerous  were  the  de- 
votees who  journeyed  to  the  shrine  there  located."^ 
In  Peru  the  temples  of  Pachacanicl,  Kimac,  and  other 
famous  gods,  were  repaired  to  by  countless  numbers 
from  all  parts  of  the  realm,  and  from  other  provinces 
within  a  radius  ot  three  hundred  leagues  around. 
Houses  of  entertainment  were  established  on  all  the 
principal  roads,  and  near  the  temples,  for  their  ac- 
commodation; and  when  they  made  known  the 
object  of  their  journey,  they  were  allowed  a  safe 
passage  even  through  an  enem)  s  territory.' 

The  more  carefully  we  study  history,  the  more  im- 
portant in  our  eyes  will  become  the  religious  senti- 
ment. It  is  almost  the  only  faculty  peculiar  to  man. 
It  concerns  him  nearer  than  aught  else.    It  is  the 


^  Cogolludo,  Hist,  de  Yucnthan,  lib.  iv.  cap.  9.  Compare  Ste- 
phens, Travs.  in  Yucatan,  ii.  p.  122,  who  describes  the  remains 
of  these  roads  as  thny  now  exist. 

2  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  Antiqu.  of  Peru,  p.  1G2. 

^  La  Vega,  Hist,  des  Incns,  lib.  vi.  chap.  30;  Xeres,  Rel.  de  la 

Conq.  du  P^rou,  p.  151 ;  Let.  sur  les  Superstit.  du  P^rou,  p.  98, 

and  others.  i   i  i   -,;. 

21 


883 


INFLUENCE  OF  NATIVE  RELIGIONS. 


key  to  his  origin  and  destiny.  As  such  it  merits  in 
all  its  developments  the  most  earnest  attention,  an 
attention  we  shall  find  well  repaid  by  the  clearer  con- 
ceptions we  thus  obtain  of  the  forces  which  control 
the  actions  and  fates  of  individuals  and  nations. 


THE  END. 


INDICES. 


I.-AUTHORS. 


AoostA,  56,  133,  279,  810. 
Adair,  26,  61,  189,  242. 
Aloazar,  Al. 
Algor,  259,  272. 
Allen,  HnrriBon,  14,  124,  126. 
Antonio,  Nio ,  318. 
Arriaga,  16A. 
Arendano,  229. 

Baegert,  250. 

Baer,  Von,. 24. 

Balboa,  56,  193,  219,  24.*). 

Bancroft,  H.  U.,  26,  39,  43,  49,  92, 

145,161. 
Barcia,  152. 
Barraga,  110,  239,  254. 
Bartram,  John,  240. 
Bartraiu,  Wm.,  109,  111,  136,  264. 
Basanier. 
Betanzos,  J.,  193. 
Beverly,  107,  303. 
Blomes,  54,  121,  178,  203. 
Borde,  De  la,  108,  119,  121. 
Bosoann,  51,  110. 
Bradford,  143. 
Brasseur,  Abb6,  13,  30,  42,  58,  66, 

71,  82,  91,  142,  185,  269,  314. 
Brcssani,  95. 
Bruyas,  49,  60,  184. 
BuHohniann,  23,  26,  30,  39,69,  91, 

110,  196,206,252. 
Buteux,  118. 
Byington,  28,  150. 
Byrd,  190. 

Cabrera,  F.,  42.    ' 
Campanius,  190. 
Carriore,  2,  45. 
Carver,  J.,  286,  289. 
Catlin,  73,  87,  97,  200,  246. 


Cbarencey,  H.  de,  14,  92,  101, 198, 

200,  226. 
Charlevoix,  143, 146, 177,  249,  289. 
Cugolludu,  48,  87,  96,  230. 
Copway,  G.,  17.  149. 
Coreal,  P.,  106,257. 
Cortes,  H,,  202. 
Cusio,  11',  122,  186. 

Denis,  F.,  201,  227. 

Deajardins,  15,  191,  194,  221. 

D'Eveux,  Yves,  52,  62,  131,  200. 

Dias,  86. 

DOrbigny,  104,  130,  148,  199,  240. 

Dumont,  132,  220. 

Duponoeau,  23,  58,  139. 

Du  Pratz,  109,  257. 

Eastman,  Mrs.,  108,  163,  263. 
Eohevarria  y  Veitia,  233. 
Egede,  51,  78,  106,  187,  208. 
Elliott,  50. 

Emory,  151,  200,  206. 
Epiotetus,  215. 

French,  253. 

Gabb,  133, 156,  169,  261,  254. 

Gallatin,  A.,  23,  48,  76,  138. 

Gama,  75,  137,  169. 

Garcia,  52,  93,  98,  133,  194. 

Gibba,  G.,  160. 

Goethe,  47, 188. 

Gomara,  21. 

Gregg,  242. 

Grimm,  J.,  9,  60,  93,  95. 

Guevara,  86. 

Guigniaut,  84. 

Guizot,  315. 

Gumiila,  97, 138,  218. 

323 


! 


i 


INDICES. 


^'"ili'^ 


Haeser,  284. 

Hale,  II.,  17. 

Hall,  C.  F.,  190,  195. 

H'linmond,  114. 

Harris,  2,. 

Hawkins,  B.,  43,  74,  80,  121. 

Haj'dei),  115. 

Heart,  242. 

Heckewelder,  68,  105. 

Heliiiont,  A.  von,  139. 

Hennepin,  114.  ^      ? ;; 

Henry,  A.,  116,  177. 

Hodgson,  A.,  279. 

Holguin,  167,  200. 

Hultzmann,  A.,  250. 

Humboldt,  A.  von,  M,  20,  86,  96, 

207,  2;50. 
Humboldt,  W.  von,  19. 

Ixtlilxoohitl,  58,  98.    /    i, 

Jarvis,  S.  F.,  40,  61. 
Jeune,  Le,  65.' 
Jewett,  J.  R.,  316. 
Jones,  P.,  118,  178. 
Joutel,  55. 

Kane,  Dr.,  304 
Kant,  I.,  44,  i73. 
Kingsborough,  75,  197. 
Kirk,  J.  F.,  173. 
Klemm,  245. 
Knortz,  C,  43. 

Lafitau,  49,  159. 

La  Hontan,  18,  97,  189. 

Landa,  Diego  de,  13,  82,  100,  132, 

230. 
Lapham,  100. 

Las  Casus,  81,  100,  168,  194. 
Lederer,  J.,  16,  24,  86,  181,  303. 
Lizana,  204,  237. 
Long,  245,  246,  268. 
Loskiel,  47,  63,272. 
Lund,  Dr.,  35.  '  • 

Lyell,  C,  37. 

McCoy,  164. 
Mactie,  M.,  108,  190. 
Mackenzie,  A.,  Ill,  158. 
Macrobius,  215. 
Maistre,  de,  J.,  70,  310. 
Mjircv,  241. 

Markham,  C.  B.,  32,  168.  275. 
Martius,  38,  39,  59,  62,  2P3. 


Martyr,  Peter,  ^1,  58,  81,  89. 

Matthews,  W.,  69,  60,  189. 

Maury,  A.,  311. 

Meyen,  32, 136,262. 

Miclielet,  209. 

Molina,  49,  58,  220. 

Montaigne,  19. 

Montes.inos,  166,  193. 

Morgan,  54,  122,  169. 

Morse,  J.,  19,  86,  217,  310. 

Morton,  S.  O.,  36. 

Mueller,  J.  G.,  41,  60,  62,  85,  21«. 

Mueller,  Max,  7,  179. 

Navarrete,  89,  156,  235,  307. 

Ncive,  F.,  217,  228. 

Noldeke,  T.,  115.      ,.  • 

Novalis,  315. 

Nuttall,  72.  '"      '   -     '• 

Ooeola  Nikkanoche,  271.  ' 

Ore,  G.  de,  318. 

Oviedo,  52, 138,  216,  251,  267.       . 

Padilla,  D.,  161,  198. 

Pnlacios,  74,  98. 

Pandosy,  51.  , 

Payne,  135,  149. 

Pennock,  270. 

Perrot,  Nic,  178,  266. 

Penn,.W.,  145. 

Pictet,  209. 

Pidgeon,  100. 

Piedrahita,  199. 

Pigafetta,  240. 

Pond,  G.  H.,  63,  73. 

Prescott,  58,  HI,  214.  '  >. 

Puydt,  de,  156. 

Pythagoras,  70.  .., 

Quen,  de,  295. 

Ramsey,  26. 

Rau,  C,  250. 

Richardson.  25,  184,  189,  220. 

Riggs,  51,  77,  100,  304. 

Pivero,  99,  229. 

Robson,  J.,  275. 

Rochefort,  199. 

Roehrig,  46,  115.  * 

Rogel,  61. 

Romans,  B.,  104,  242. 

Rosny,  L.  de,  38. 

Ruis,  A.,  274. 


INDICES. 


325 


Sahagun,  78,  90,  91,  98,  134,  136, 

I  nOa 

Scherzer,  K.,  21,  42,  104. 
Schombergk,  52. 

Schwarz,  117,  122,  247. 

Seneca,  234. 

Sepp,  70,  83,  88,  232. 

Shea,  J.  G.,  54,  61,  64,  135. 

Sibley,  Dr.,  219. 

Simon,  199. 

Smet,  de,  73,  95,  163. 

Smith,  B.,  69. 

Smith,  J,,  48. 

Spencer,  II.,  291, 

Sprague,  li!5. 

Sprengel,  K.,  140.  ' 

Squier,  E.  G.,  21,  40,  65,  100,  205. 

Staden,  Hans,  86. 

Stanley,  J.  M.,  2<J6. 

Steinthal,  8. 

Stephens,  8],  321. 

Strachey,  181. 

Tacitus,  9. 

Tanner,  J.,  114.  126,  146,  182. 
Ternaux  Compans,  56,  75,  134. 
Thomas,  G.,  137. 


Timberlake,  H.,  109,  120. 
Tonty,  109. 

Torquemada,  13,  119,  126,  170,  198. 
2:i9, 264.  >    •   ,    s-o, 

Trumbull,  J.  H.,  7,  8,  46. 
Tschudi,  99.  131,  229. 
Turner,  W.  W.,  26. 

Ulloa,  193. 

Vater,  23.     . 

Vegn,  Garcilasso  de  la,  32,  56,  71. 
168, 262,  ,321.  '      '      ' 

Vehisco,  134,  235. 
Venegas,  95,  218. 
Vetromiile,  E.,  179,  188. 
Villngutierre  Sotomayor,  98,  204. 
Volney,  139.  •'     '      ' 

Waifz,  T.,  2,  12,  41,  86,  165,  268. 

Waldeck,  De,  124,  154. 

Whipple,  63,  13^,206. 

Williiims,  R.,  239,  254.  ' 

Winslow,  61. 

Wright,  A.,  150,  260. 

Xeres  57   321 

^2ir269^"'  ^^'^^'  ^^' ^*'' 7"' »2, 


II.— SUBJECTS. 


Abnakis,  166,  179,  188 

Acagcheraem,  110. 

Achaguas,  226. 

Age  of  man  in  America,  35. 

Ages  of  the  world,  229  sq. 

Agriculture,  influence  of,  23,  138. 

Aknktinet,  62. 

Akansas,  109. 

Akbal,  the  sncred  rase,  136. 

Akenatzi,  303. 

Algonkins,  location  of,  26,  35. 

myths,  63,  79.  H5,  107,11.3,118, 
14.3,  151,  176,  181,216,220, 
225,235,24(1,270,317. 

See    Blacki'kkt,    Chipkways, 

DeLAW'ARKS,  SlIAWNEES,  efc. 

Alphabet,  phonetic,  13. 

of  Cherokees,  16. 
Aluberi,  name  of  God,  59. 
Amalivaca,  174,  199. 
Ainautas,  17,  85,  235,  2c3. 


Anahuac,  29,  92. 
Ancestral  worship,  274. 
Androgynous  deities,  160. 
Angont,  a  mythieal  serpent,  14.3. 
Anguta,  an  Eskimo  deitv.  190. 
Antilles,  natives  of,  33,  ill. 
Apnches,  25,  206. 
Apalaches,  28. 
Apocatequil,  165. 
Ararats,  of  America,  219. 
Araucanians,   34,  49,   69,  62,  168, 

220,  206. 
Arks,  273. 
Arawacks,  affinities,  33. 

myths,  90. 

See  Haitians. 
Arickarees,  11]. 
Askarin,  181. 
Astrology,  298. 
Ataensic,  129.  137,  184. 
Ataguju,  or  Ataohuchu,  165,  194  gq. 


326 


INDICES. 


f^  n ' 


\     mSgB 

if 

il 

wM 

n 


Atatarho,  Iroquois  god,  123. 
Athapasonn  tribes,  25,  33,  210. 

See  Dog-ribs,  Apaches,  etc, 
Atl,  the  moon,  137. 
Atnai,  the,  245. 
Augurs,  colleges  of,  106. 
Aurora  Burealis,  262. 
Aymaras,  32,  56,  195. 

See  Pkru,  Quichcas,  Incas. 
Aztecs,  books  and  writing,  11-13. 

location,  30,  35. 

calendar,  76,  116. 

myths  iind  rites,  22,  59,  71,  74, 
96,116,141,144,185,196,219, 
221,230,243,263,276,318. 

See  Nahuas,  Mexicans. 
Aztlan,  92. 

Bacab,  82,  101. 

Biiptisui,  131  sq.        ^  ' 

Bath,  ns  a  rite,  131. 

Bearded  men,  190,  196. 

Bimini,  89. 

Bird,  as  a  symbol,  106  sq.,  163, 190, 

210,  221,  229. 
Bitol,  name  of  God,  59. 
Blaokfeet,  27,  99,  149,  241. 
Blue,  as  symbolic  color,  47. 
Bochica,  199. 
Bogota,  natives  of,  32. 
Boiuca,  89. 

Bones,  preservation  of,  273. 
Books,  of  Aztecs,  11. 
Botocudos,  129,  216, 
Brazilian  tribes,  106,  116,  129,  140, 

155,  161,  200,  262. 
See  Tupis,  Botocudos,  etc. 
Bridge  of  Death,  265. 
Bri  Bri  Indians,  133,  159,  251. 
Burning  the  dead,  150. 
Busk,  the,  73,  99,  133. 
Butterfly,  as  wind-maker,  1 10. 

Caddoes,  96,  219. 

Calendars,  of  natives,  76. 

Caliban,  240. 

California,  natives  of,  49,  152,  159, 

218,  250. 
Calmecac,  301. 
Camaxtii,  140. 
Cannibals,  33,  240. 
Cardinal  points,   adoration  of,   69 

sqq.,  124,  181. 
Caribs,  affinities,  33. 

myths,  62,  l(i8,  IIP,  121,  168, 

240,  253,  273. 
Casas  Grandes,  243. 


Catequil,  See  Apocatequil. 
Cauac,  a  Maya  God,  82. 
Cavef,  remains  in,  36. 

sacred,  243,  274. 
Centeotl,  23,  141. 
Chac,  Maya  gods,  82. 
Chahta-Muskokee  tribes,  28,  33. 
Chakekenapok,  181. 
Chalehihuitlycue,  129,  161. 
Chalchihuitlatonac,  161. 
Chantico,  an  Aztec  deity,  145. 
Chepewyans,  245,  266, 
Cherokees,  alphabet,  16. 

affinities,  26,  135. 

myths  and  rites,  5^.,  63,  119, 
120,  134,  149,  189,  300. 
Chia,  tho  moon,  140. 
Chibchas,  32,  See  MurscAS. 
Chichimec,  146. 
Chickasaws,  28,  236.  ,    • 

Chicomoztoc,  243. 
Chicuna,  168, 
Chicunoapa,  213. 
Chili,  natives  of,  23,  34. 
Chipeways,  picture-writing,  10, 17. 

legends  of,  23. 

language,  239. 

location,  27. 

myths  and  rites,  63,  73,  177. 

See  Algonkins. 
Chipiapoos,  181, 
Chiriquanes,  271. 
Choctaws,  28. 

myths,  51,  150,  251,  279,300. 
Cholula,  pyniuiid  of,  195,  196,  219. 
Cibola,  seven  cities  of,  243. 
CihuacoatI,  126. 
Cihuapipitli,  263. 
Circumcision,  158. 
Citatli,  137. 
Citlalatonac,  161,  222. 
Citlalicue,  160,  222. 
Clouds,  as  birds,  107. 
Coatlicue,  123, 
CohuaxolotI,  145, 
Colors,  symbolism  of,  47,  146,  179, 

183,  199. 
Comanches,  29,  30, 
Confession,  riteoT,  310. 
Con,  or  Contici,  56,  168,  191. 
Condorcanqui,  Jose  (lal)riel,  206. 
Costa  llica,  natives  of,  156,  251. 
Couvade,  the,  156. 
Coxcox,  217. 
Coyote,  myths,  145,  247. 
Coyoteras,  24l, 
Cozumel,  321.  - 


INDICES. 


327 


Crnniology,  American,  36. 
Creation,  myths  of,  150,  209. 
Creeks,  28, 

uiytlis  and  rites,  51,  7'5,  79,  95, 
120,  143,  2fiO,  292,  302. 

See  MusKOKKES. 
Cross,  as  symbol,  97  sq.,  198. 

of  Palenque,  124. 
Crow  Indians,  115. 
Cuba,  natives  of,  33. 
Cutnana,  natives  of,  100. 
Cunas,  108. 
Cupay,  5ee  SuPAY. 
Cusic,  64.  t 

Cuzco,  22,  71. 

Dakotas,  29,  50. 

myths  and  rites,  63,  73,  1i,  95, 
108,  122,  140,  163,  216,253, 
277,  298. 

See  Sioux,  Osages,  Sacs,  etc. 
Darien,  natives  of,  129,  168. 
Dawn,  myths  of,  85,  167,  179,  187. 
Dead,  burning  the,  150. 
Delawares,  145,  147,  151,  175. 

See  Algonkins. 
Deluge,  myth  of,  215  sq. 
Devil,  idea  of,  60,  268  sq. 
Dighton  rock  inscription,  10. 
Divination,  by  birds,  106. 

various  means,  297. 
Dobayba,  125. 
Dog,  myths  of,  143  sq.,  245,  256, 

265,  293. 
Dogi,  24. 

Dogrib  Indians,  158,  2J5. 
Dove,  as  symbol.  111,  271. 
Dualism,  no  moral  in  America,  67 
sexual  in  religion,  153  sq. 

Eagle,  as  symbol,  109. 

Earthworks,  37. 

East,  in  myths,  93,  179,  199,  261. 

Ehecatl,  51,  195. 

Eldorado,  90. 

End  of  the  world,  myths  of,  233. 

Enigorio  and  Enigohahetgea,  64. 

Epochs  of  nature,  213. 

Eskimos,  location,  24. 

myths,  60,  78,  106,  14.3,  184, 
187,  190,  208,  239,258,262, 

266,  279. 

Fear  in  religion,  311. 
Fire-worship,  146  sq. 
Five  Nations,  18,  26. 
See  Iroquois. 


Flint-stone,  in  myths,  170, 184. 

Flood,  myth.  See  'Dk.uvq&. 

Florida,  90,  135. 

Forty,  as  sacred  number,  97. 

Fountain  of  youth,  89,  135. 

Four,  the  sacred  number  of  the  red 

race,  68  sqq.,  181,  193,  223, 

232,  257,  298. 
Four  brothers,  myth  of,  181. 
Fox,  in  myths,  271. 
Frog,  as  symbol,  184,  186. 

Giironhia,  185. 
Geropari,  See  Juripari. 
Gizhigooke,  183. 
God,  idea  of,  4,  44  sq. 

names  of,  58. 
Gold,  product  of  lightning,  125. 
Golden  verses  of  Pythagoras,  70.   ; 
Gourd,  as  symbol,  136. 
Greenland,  natives  of,  106. 

Sife  Eskimos. 
Gu<ichcmines,  165,  167. 
Guamansuri,  165. 

Guarunis,  or  Guaranays,  33,  86,  313. 
Guatemala,  natives  of,  17,  30,  74, 
82,  91,  257,  264. 

.See  Mayas,  Quiches,  Nicara- 

GUANS,  CoSTA  RiCANS. 

Guatavita,  Lake,  130,  321. 
Guaycurus,  155,  158. 
Gucumatz,  124. 
Guiiitia,  natives  of,  33. 

See  Arawacks. 
Gumongo,  95. 

Haitians,  33,  52,  80,  87,.  190,  203. 

See  Arawacks. 
Hand,  symbol  of,  198. 
Ilaokah,  a  Dakota  deity,  164. 
Ilaravecs,  singers,  17. 
Hare,  the  Great,  See  Michab.o. 
Hare  Indians,  158,  245. 
Hatteras,  Cape,  natives  of,  22. 
Hawaneu,  See  Neo. 
Head,  as  seat  of  soul,  254. 
Heaven,  of  the  red  man,  263. 
Heliolatry,  Sec  Sun-worship. 
Hell,  268,  270.  , 

Heno,  169. 

Heyoka,  a  Dakota  deity,  95. 
Hiawatha,  186. 
Hidafsa,  59,  60,  137,  174, 189. 
Hispaniola,  89. 
Hiyouyulgee,  79. 
Hobbamock,  61. 
Holy  water,  132. 


328 


INDICES. 


Horned  serpent,  See  Skrpent. 
Horns,   as   lightning  ejrmbol,   119, 

164. 
Huaafeciis,  77. 
Iluecomitl,  13fi. 
lluumnc,  195,  1U8. 
Iluitzil  opochtli,  123,  .301. 
Hunting,  its  etfc-ct  on  the  mind,  22. 
Huralcan,  tint  storin  god,  52,  83,  119, 

109,211. 
Hurons,  26,  48,  111,  119,  143,  183. 
Hushtoli,  51. 
Hjorocan,  Sec  Hurakan. 

Idacanzas,  a  Muysca  god,  199. 

I(leogni]>hic  writing,  19. 

Idols,  319. 

Ijlatici,  66,  168. 

Incas,  32,  71,  125,  144,  149,  203. 

Ihniiits,  194. 

Inscriptions,  14,  16. 

Introsusc'L'ption,  7. 

loskcliii,  64,  183  sq. 

Irin  niago,  226. ; 

Iroquois,  records  of,  17. 

location,  26,  35. 

nivths,  63,  64,  85,  87,113,  151, 
183  sq.,  212. 

Sve    HiitoNs,    Five    Nations, 
Six  Nations. 
Isolation  of  red  race,  21. 
Itaba-tahu.ina,  190. 
Itamapisa,  174. 
Itanioulou,  199. 
Itsika-mahidis,  59. 
Itzcuinan,  Aztec  deity,  144. 
Ix,  a  Maya  god,  82. 
Iztac-mixcoiitl,  171,  197. 

Jossnkeed,  304. 

Juripari,  162. 

Jus  priuias  noctis,  156. 

Kabul,  a  Maya  god,  198. 

Kabun,  181. 

Kabibonokka,  181. 

Kan.  a  Maya  god,  82. 

Kenai.  the,'245. 

Kicbigouai,  gods  of  ligbt,  183. 

Kiehtnn,  61. 

Killistenoes,  289, 

King  of  fisiies,  182. 

of  serpents,  113. 
Kittanitowit,  61. 
Kneph,  50. 
Knisteneaux,  275, 
Kolosch  tribe,  146,  150,  245. 
Kukulcan,  124,  204. 


Labrador,  natives  of,  24. 
Languages,  of  red  race,  8,  23. 

secret,  of  Incas,  32. 

secret,  of  priests,  302. 
Lcnni  Lenape,  27,  99,  ^Ih. 
Light,  myths  of,  150,  179,  187. 
Lightning,  myths  concerning,  108, 

117,163. 
Lipans,  25* 

Liver,  the,  in  myths,  254. 
Lower  Creeks,  104. 

Madness,  293. 

Magic,  285. 

Maize,  distribution  of,  23,  38. 

goddess  of,  141. 
Miima  Allpa,  239. 
Mil  ma  Coclia,  129. 
Mama  Quilla,  138. 
Man,  o    gin  of,  238. 

word  for,  239. 
Manco,  193. 
JIanco  C«i)ac.  194. 
Mandans,  73,  87.  97,  111,  200,  244. 
Manhattan,  natives  of,  161. 
Miinibdzbo,  Sie  MicuABO. 
Mannacicas,  268. 
Manoa,  90. 

Maraskarin,  181.  ♦ 

Marriage  rites,  155. 
Maryland,  natives  of,  203. 
Manes,  116. 

Manito,  63,  114,  118,  182,  317. 
Mayas,  alphabet  of,  73. 

aftiniiies,  31. 

calendar,  76. 

mvths,  48,  52,  81,  87,  96,  101, 
1!»8,  203.  229,  269. 

See   Yl'CATAN,  Qt'lCHES. 

Mayapan,  31. 
Mb'ocobi,  217. 
Mechoacaiis,  226, 
Meda  worship,  13.3,  304. 
Medicine,  word  for,  46. 

lodge,   183. 

men,  28,  161. 

stone.  111.  > 

Memory,  strength  of,  18. 
Messou,  See  MicHABO. 
Metempsychosis,  271. 
Mexicans,  12,  22,  171. 

S''e  AzTKcs,  Nahuas. 
Meztli,  138,  141. 

Michabo,   supreme   Algonkin   god, 
65,    122,    143,    152,    175  sq., 
216,  225,  235,  313. 
Micbilimakinac,  177. 


W': 


II 


INDICES. 


329 


Micmaos,  16. 

Miotlan  and  Mictla,  62,  95,  2<'6. 
Mictlanteuctli.  198,  270. 
Migrations,  course  of,  62. 
Milky  way,  in  myth,  261. 
Millenium,  207,  279. 
Minnetareeg,  244,  246. 

See  HiDATSA. 
Mixcoatl,  or  Mixcohuatl,  22, 62, 171. 
Mixtecas,  myths  of,  92,  226. 
Mnemonic  aids,  16. 
Mohawk,  184,  185,  251. 
Monan,  226. 
Monotheism,  53. 
Monquis,  95. 
Montezuma,  151,  202,  205. 
Moon,  myths  of,  136  sq.,  162,  166, 

184. 
Mosoos,  77.  '      '     ' ' 

Moxos,  104,  246,  299. 
Muluc,  a  Maya  god,  82. 
Mummies,  275  sq. 
Mundrucus,  155. 
Muskokees,  28,  210,  242. 
Muyscas,  32,  86,  99,  140,  199,  321. 

Nahuas,  23,  30,  56,  75,  86,  12.3,  145, 

171,196. 
Naming  children,  134. 
Nannhuiitl,  141. 
Nanibojou,  See  MiCHABO. 
Nanihohecatle,  195. 
Nanih  waiyn,  242. 
Nanticokes,  147. 
Nata,  222. 
Natchez,  28,  86,  132,  149,  220,  241, 

256. 
Natose,  99,  149. 
Naudowessies,  317. 
Navajos,   25,  81,  86,  87,  170,  204, 

220,  258. 
Nemqueteba,  god  of  Muyscas,  86, 

174,199. 
Neo,  54. 

Nesquallies,  the,  190. 
Netelas,  110. 

Newfoundland,  natives  of,  55. 
New  Mexico,  natives  of,  25,  29, 150. 

See  PcEBLO  Indians,  Zunis. 
Nezahuatl,  57. 
Nez  Percys,  291. 
Nicaragunns,  30, 138,  152,  171,  216, 

251,2(53, 
Night,  goddess  of,  139. 
Nile  Key,  the,  101. 
Nine  Rivers,  the,  267. 
Nootka  Indians,  3J6. 


North,  names  oi",  77,  181. 
Northmen,  records  of,  10,  24. 
Northwest  wind,  182. 
Nottoways,  26,  43. 
Number,    icred,  68  s 
Numock-muckenah 


sq. 
,174. 


Occaniohes,  303. 
Oenocks,  16,  181. 
Ojebv/ays,  See  Chipeways. 
Oki,  48. 

Omccihuatl,  160. 
Ometeuctli,  IfiO. 
Oneidas,  183,  185,  242. 
Onniont,  119. 
Onondagas,  186. 
Oregon,  inscriptions,  10. 

natives,  26,  253,  291. 
Original  sin,  134. 
Orinoco,  inscriptions,  10. 

natives  of,  138,  157,  218. 
Osages,  213. 

Otchipwe,  See  CniPEWAV. 
Otomis,  171,  239. 
Ottawas,  95,  152,  175. 

See  Algonkins. 
Ottoes,  86,  115. 
Ovisaketchak,  176. 
Owl,  IIS  a  symbol,  110. 
Owl  Bridge,  the,  110,  266. 

Paoarinn,  275. 
Pacari  tampu,  85,  193,  243. 
Pachacamil,  191. 
Pachacamac,  67,  191. 
Pachacutec,  Inca,  144,  191. 
Pacific  coast,  natives  of,  34. 
Paemolnick,  240. 
Palenque,  inscriptions,  14. 

cross  of,  124. 
Pampas,  natives  of,  33,  62. 
Panes,  a  holy  bird,  110. 
Pan  OS,  14. 

Pan-paxil-pa-cayala,  92. 
Panuco,  river,  31,  159. 
Paradise,  mountain  of,  83. 

the  earthly,  91. 
Paraguay,  natives  of,  159,  161,  217, 

274. 
Paria,  89. 
Pash,  181. 

Patagonians,  3.3,  240. 
Pawnees,  73,  86,  157. 
Pend  Oreilles,  249. 
Peru,  records  of,  14. 

natives  of,  32. 

divisions  of,  71. 


330 


INDICES. 


Peru,  myths  and  rites,  74,  lOfi,  125, 
130,  133,  144,  147,  189,  191, 
218,  257,  275,  301. 
See  Aymaras,  Incas,  Quicuuas. 
FmiUic  worship,  154,  158. 
Picture  writing,  12,  182. 
Pigeons,  in  myths,  210,  220. 
Pigueras,  IfiS,  107. 
Pilgrimages,  321. 
Pimos,  200. 
Plants,  sacrec?,  202. 
Pleiades,  the,  62,  218. 
Pol^synthcsig,  7. 
Popoyan,  natives  of,  271,  275. 
Powhatans,  48,  107,  175,  274. 
Pow-wow,  298. 
Prayers,  315  sq. 
Priesthood,  144,  283. 
Printing,  by  Aztecs,  10. 
Pueblo  Indians,  206,  226. 
Puelches,  296. 

Qabavil,  name  of  God,  92. 

Quadrigesimal,  ^7. 

Quahootze,  316. 

Quaker,  name  of  God,  48. 

Quetzal,  the,  111. 

QuetzalcontI,  91,  98,  124,  195  eq., 

235,  313. 
Quiatcot,  138. 
Quiches,  records  of,  17. 

nffiniticp,  31. 

myths  of.  23,  65,  70,  83,  87,  92, 
96,  101,  189,  211,  223,  277. 

Sec  Mayas. 
Quichuas,  affinities,  32,  35. 

myths  and  rites,  55,  96,  166, 
101,  243,  275. 

See  AvMAUAs,  Incas,  Peru. 
Quipus,  14,  15,  147. 

Race,  unity  of,  2. 
Itacumon,  a  Carib  god,  121. 
Kattlesnako,  poison  ot.  114. 

ns  symbol,  115  sq.,  124,  182. 

See  Skrpent. 
Raven,  in  myths,  211,  220,  229. 
Rebus,  use  of,  12. 
Red,  as  a  symbol,  146. 
Resurrection  of  the  body,  279. 
Rimac,  temple  of,  321. 
Rites,  religious,  5. 
Root-digger.s,  29,  247. 
Roots,  of  language,  7. 

Sacrifice,  rite  of.  310. 
Sacs,  86,  115,  140. 


Salish,  the,  190. 
Sanscrit,  flood  inyth,  217,  227. 
Sural  a,  186. 

Sauks,  or  Saukie,  See  Sacs. 
Savacon,  a  Carib  god,  121,  168. 
Second  sight,  288. 
Semen,  myths  relating  to,  239. 
Seminoles,  28,  271. 
Sepoy,  181. 

Serpent,  as  symbol,  112,  143,  171, 
298,  303. 

horned,  10,  119. 

king  of,  113. 
Setebos,  a  Patagonian  deity,  240. 
Seven,    sacred    number,   218,   243, 
269,  300. 

stnrs,  iS'ee  Pleiades. 
Sex,  religion  of,  15" 
Shawano,  181. 

Shawnees,  27,  74,  86,  115,  118,  151, 
300. 

See  A'  GONKINS^ 
Shoshonees,  29,  145. 
Sidne,  an  Lskimo  goddess,  190, 
Sillam  I'-.nua,  51,  78. 
Sioux,  29,  157,  253. 
Six  Nations,  242. 

See  Iroquois. 
Slates,  used  by  Aztecs,  11.  h 

Snako  plant,  292. 

horned,  10. 

See  Skkpext. 
Snakes,  or  Shoshonees,  29. 
Soul,  immortal,  249  sq. 

in  bone,  276. 
South,  in  myths,  181,  261. 
Stone  worsli'ip,  170,  242,  271. 
Sua,  199,  205. 

Sun  worship,  56,  147  sq.,  185,  192, 
Suns,  Aztec,  230. 
Supay,  or  Cupay,  62,  268. 
Susquchannocks,  26. 
Syphilis,  myths  conoerning,  141  sq. 

Tacci,  24. 

Tahkalis,  133,  146,  213,  271,  273. 

Tamoin,  275. 

Tamu,  or  Tamoi,  174,  199,  313. 

Taras,  171. 

Tnrascos,  171. 

Taronhia  wagon,  185. 

Taru,  129. 

Tawiscnrn,  65,  183  sq. 

Teatihuacan,  187. 

Teczistecntl,  138. 

Teo-chichimecs   171, 

Texan  tribes,  247. 


'  111 


INDICES. 


331 


7. 

68. 
9. 

3,  171, 


240. 
\y    243, 


8,  161, 


0. 


192. 
41  sq. 

!r3. 


Tercntlipoca,  19fi,  223. 

Tezuque  tribe,  150. 

Thi'g-Tlieg,  220. 

Thierfiibfln,  103. 

Thliiikeets,  254. 

Three  as  sncred  number,  168. 

Thunder  storm,  122,  162  sq.,  191. 

Tici,  the  vase,  136,  168,  lyj. 

Timuquns,  28. 

Tiri,  a  Yurucaro  god,  240. 

Titicaca,  Lake,  32,  130,  192,243. 

Titlahuan,  223. 

TiauatecolotI,  110. 

Tialoc,  78,  90,  118,  169,  197,219. 

Tialocan,  90,  96,  264. 

Thilocavitl,  94. 

Tlal.xicco,  270. 

Tlapallan,  90,  196, 

Tlascaltecs,  SO,  226. 

Tloquc  nahuaque,  59. 

Tobacco,  ifs  cultivation,  38. 

use,  292. 
Tohil,  170,  105.* 
Tollan,  S<:c  TiiLAN. 
Toltecs,  30,  81,  140,195. 
Tonacaqiiiihuitl,  08. 
Tonacutuotl,  107. 
Tonncatopcc,  85,  91. 
Tonantzin,  n'G. 
Tortoise,  in  myths,  185. 
Toukawfiys,  247. 
Tree  of  life,  08. 
Trinity,  in  America,  168. 
Tsalakic,  26. 
Tuira,  or  Tuyra,  52. 
Tulan,  or  Tula,  85,  90,  91,  l^Q. 
Tulanzu,  244. 
Tupa,  33,  104,  200. 
Tupi-Gu.iranay  stem,  33,  15,  62. 
Tup  if!,  33. 

myths,  62,   86.    155,     64,  200, 
22C,  275,  293. 
Tuscaroras,  24,  26,  303. 
Tufclops,  29. 
Tutnl  Xiu.  81. 
Twins,  Ififi,  183,  3!0.* 
Tzitkol,  name  of  God,  59. 
Tzatzitepec,  197. 


Ucnyale,  river,  14. 

llchoes,  28. 

Ugalentz  Indians,  146. 

Unoleanness  of  woi'^en,  156. 

Unity  of  human  race,  2. 

Unktahe,  a  Dakota  god,  122,  140. 

Utah,  or  Utcs,  30. 


Vase,  ns  symbol,  136. 
Vera  Paz,  natives  of,  31. 
Vestals,  of  the  sun,  154. 
Vinland,  or  Vinelund,  10,  24. 
Viracocha,  191  sq.,  243,  317. 
Virginia,  natives  of,  24,  48,  86, 175. 
246,274.  '      >     >       , 

Virgin-mother,  the,  161,  180,  190. 
Votan,  myth  of,  92,  198. 

Wabosso,  181. 

Wiibun,  181. 

Wakan,  46,  114. 

Wakinyan,  Dakota  gods,  108. 

Wampum,  15. 

War  particle,  150. 

physic,  the,  123. 
Wasi,  a  Cherokee  deity,  174. 
AVater,  in  myihs.  83,  122,  129  sq., 

142,  16.S,  209.  ^ 

Wauhkeon,  a  Dakota  god,  122. 
West,  in  myths,  180,  2l)0,  261,  262. 
White,  as  symbolic,  179,  183,  188, 

199.  ' 

towns,  189. 
Wihinasht,  30. 

MMnds,  as  deities,  51,  53,  182,  212. 
Winnebagoes,  29,  236. 
Witchitas,  241. 
Wolf,  in  myths,  145,  247. 
Writing,  modes  of,  9-13. 
Wyoming,  115. 

Xblanque,  277. 
Xolhua,  244. 
Xibalba,  65,  269,  277. 
Xochiquctzal,  144. 
Xulotl,  145,  276. 

Yiikanins,  51,  190. 

Y.imo  and  Yama,  167. 

YiliI,  a  primeval  bird,  190. 

Yonlii-ehecatl.  196. 

Yohiialticitl,  138. 

Yoicuat,  the  rattlesnake.  124,  195. 

Youth,  fountain  of,  89,  135. 

Yucatan,  13,  31,  71,  98,  236. 

Yuncas,  32. 

Yupanqui,  Incn,  56. 

Yurucares,  217,  240,  278. 

Zacs,  empire  of;  32,  130. 
Ziimna,  96,  198,  204. 
Z;tpotecs,  198,  226, 
Zca  Mays,  Sec  Maizf!. 
Ziiizendorf,  Count,  115. 
Zunis,  109,  219. 


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